Dorm Dilemma
by withyourteeth
Summary: When Edd and Kevin are placed together in their freshman dorm room, the boys feelings for each other are tested and secrets must be kept. Rated for later scenes.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Double D pushed the door to his freshman dorm room open and stepped inside, carrying a large bag of move in essentials. He looked about his room at the concrete walls and extra long, but slim, beds. It appeared his roommate had already arrived and set up his own half, but he was nowhere to be found within the confines of their room. The left side of the room held an unmade bed with a pair of shorts casually thrown over the post, sports posters hung over the bed and desk, and a computer set up on the desk.

Edd set down his bag and returned to the taxi to remove the rest of his stuff. He carefully arranged his belongings in drawers and on his desk. He hung a poster of the periodic table of elements over his desk, despite having memorized it years before. Finally he placed Jim the cactus in a place of honor on the window sill. He adjusted his hat and lay down on his bed, spent from moving in alone. His feet just barely reached the wooden footboard at the bottom. In seconds he drifted to sleep.

He awoke hours later to the sound of a key in the door. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and tried to watch as his roommate walked in. Something heavy dropped to the floor in the entrance but the person didn't come into sight right away.

"Ugh no way the Double Dweeb is my roommate," a familiar voice said in distaste.

"K-Kevin? I was not aware that you too had gained admittance to this university."

He rolled his eyes. "Sports scholarship." He started to pull off his jersey and shorts.

Edd tried to avert his eyes but was captivated by the hard lines of Kevin's back and neck. He rarely saw another body in such a state of undress, and it was even rarer to see a specimen as toned as Kevin. His muscles slid gracefully into one another, framing his spine that protruded ever so slightly under the skin. His skin draped over those well-defined muscles like the finest silk and glowed golden from his days spent in the sun during his sports practices.

Kevin pulled a towel out of a trunk under his bed, slung it around his waist and left the room carrying a shower caddy without another word. He returned after about an hour, wrapped in his towel, skin glistening with water and smelling faintly of soap.

Trying to be amenable to the rooming situation, Double D asked, "For which sports did you receive scholarships, Kevin?"

Kevin pulled a pair of mesh shorts up his slim hips and grunted, "Soccer and baseball. Full ride."

"I too received the entirety of my tuition in scholarship."

He snorted. "For what? Physics?"

"Well actually, my senior thesis in entomology and the effects of the dung beetle on its environment. It's quite fascinating—"

"Yeah I'm sure it is." He pulled a t-shirt over his frame and slipped on a pair of sandals. "I'm going to get some grub."

"Oh! If you don't mind, I could accompany you to the cafeteria. I have not eaten since this morning and could do with some sustenance."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

* * *

Kevin groaned inwardly as the Double Dork followed him out the room. It just figured the one person he was hoping to avoid at college would be the one who he'd be sharing a very small, very cramped dorm room with. The nerd bobbed behind him, and Kevin tensed across his jaw and shoulders. The nerd's slim form was masked in a long v-neck t-shirt and black skinny jeans. He wore the same hat he'd been wearing as long as Kevin had known him and the gap in his teeth had managed to withstand the evident torture of braces in his early high school years, still peaking between his lips when he smiled or spoke. And watching him speak made Kevin wonder, for the thousandth time, what it would feel like to have his tongue slip around that gap.

He had hoped that he would be placed with a stranger, preferably one he wasn't attracted to so that his college reputation would remain as it had been in high school. He had dated girls throughout high school, been the sports hero, and managed decent enough grades that he could have gotten into college without his athleticism, though admittedly not one as good as where he wound up. He acknowledged that he didn't expect to be the sports hero necessarily, but keeping up the façade of being straight and decently smart had seemed possible. Rooming with Edd would be a test of his willpower.

Edd evened with him and kept pace as they crossed campus to the dining hall. "I do wish to thank you for allowing me to attend a meal with you. I did not think you'd actually comply, since you do have friends of your own already."

Kevin smiled a little at the formality of Edd's speech patterns. "No problem, Dork. Figured if we have to live together I should at least try to be nice every once in a while."

"And I appreciate the effort. If there is ever anything I can do for you while we are sharing a living space, please do ask and I will try to accommodate you."

An image of Edd in a compromising and explicit position flashed in his mind's eye. "Uh—yeah, I'll let you know if I can think of anything."

Edd nodded affably. They entered the cafeteria. Kevin grabbed a tray and went to stand in line for a burger and fries. He half expected Edd to tag along but a carefully casual glance over his shoulder indicated that the boy had gone to the salad bar. With burger and fries he grabbed a drink from the soda fountain. Edd joined him a moment later, tray piled with a grilled chicken salad, vegetables, fruit, and a glass of milk.

"Is that all you're going to eat?"

"It shall be most sufficient. I never like to eat heavy. It is most unhealthy for our digestive systems."

Kevin started walking to an empty table. "You coming, nerd?" he called over his shoulder.

Edd skipped forward after him and sat across from him.

* * *

Edd would not have expected to have been allowed to sit with Kevin at meal time, but was most pleased to be invited without provocation. He sat across from Kevin with a smile and began to eat. The salad felt slightly gritty on his tongue but the food was satisfying.

A large boy carrying a tray did a double take and stopped by the table. "Yo, Kevin, what're you doin' here, man?"

"What do you mean?" Kevin said around a mouthful of burger without looking up.

The muscle-bound man glanced up at Edd then said, "Soccer team has a table in the back. Why you sittin' here?"

Kevin finally looked up. "This is my roommate. I've known him since I was a kid. If I want to eat with him, I'm gunna. Is that a problem?"

He shook his head. "Nah, no problem. Just didn't realize you hung out with nerds." He walked away without looking back.

Edd felt the color rising in his cheeks. "Kevin, if you'd rather eat with your teammates, I understand," he said quietly. "I'm quite used to being alone and would not want to hinder your social interactions with members of an athletic family."

He blew air out his nose. "They can be real jerks. I don't mind eating with you. You're more interesting usually anyway."

Touched, but disbelieving, Edd responded, "I find that hard to believe but I appreciate your efforts for a more genial rapport as roommates. But really, if you wish to eat with your team—"

"Listen Dork, I'm eating here, with you. I don't give two shits about those guys. And you _are_ more interesting. They talk about soccer, getting drunk, and which girl they're going to sleep with next. And that's the entirety of their conversation. You at least have interests, even if I don't understand them. Got it?"

Edd nodded.

"Good." Kevin stuffed his burger back into his mouth and chewed with a vengeance.

Floundering in an unexpected and wholly touching social experience, Edd picked at his salad. "Have you chosen your classes yet?"

Kevin nodded and swallowed hard. "Yeah. I'm gunna take Statistics, Chemistry 107, that freshman writing seminar bullshit, and Biology 104. How bout you?" he said before shoving a few fries in his mouth.

"I too am taking Chemistry 107. I've also decided on Biology 202, Trigonometry, American History 100, and I'm thinking that the swim class would be the lesser evil for my physical education requirement."

"I've thought about taking that," Kevin added.

"But you've no need for the physical education, with your athletic scholarship."

Kevin shrugged. "I like to be active. Helps ease tension. Maybe I'll join you in that class."

A bit of excitement fluttered in the pit of Edd's stomach, a sensation he hadn't felt about another person in a long time.

* * *

Kevin hadn't actually been thinking about joining the swim class at the time, but when Double D said that he might, he couldn't resist. They walked back to their dorm together, Kevin clenching his hands into fists to keep himself from reaching for Edd's.

When they returned to the room, Edd glanced at Kevin and shyly removed his shirt. Kevin held his breath for a moment and tried to look away. He started rearranging the books on his desk but could only half focus. He kept the slim boy in his peripheral vision. Edd pulled a bathrobe from his closet and put it on before removing his pants under it. He gathered his bathing supplies and put on a pair of foam flip flops. "I'm going to decontaminate myself, please don't lock the door?"

Kevin nodded. The door shut heavily and Kevin fell onto his bed. Images of Double D in the shower crossed his mind; Double D naked, Double D wet…he even imagined joining him in the shower, and the way he would caress the dweeb, feeling his skin slick with water and the tight muscles of his ass. He let out a garbled moan and buried his face into his pillows. He took a deep breath, counting the inhale and exhale like the sport's psychologist had once told him to do. After a few minutes of deep, measured breathing he felt a little better and sat up. He reached under his bed and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He untwisted the cap, took a long drag from the bottle, then replaced it, hoping the bit of liquor would help him calm down.

* * *

Edd lingered in the shower, allowing the hot water to run over his body. He pondered his living situation and the irony of it all. He had never disliked Kevin and had recently come to the conclusion that he merely defended himself and his friends from Eddy's bullying. He had accepted that Eddy was the true bully in most every scheme and had severed ties with him over the summer, unable to withstand the taunting and physical abuse that Eddy routinely doled out.

Edd started to lather his mesh sponge and rubbed the soap into his skin, still thinking about his rooming situation. He found it interesting that Kevin chose to sit with him at dinner when he could have spent time with his soccer friends. The blood rose to his cheeks remembering how Kevin had even called him interesting. He wanted to remain interesting to the popular boy, to make a real friend at college, someone who valued his opinion as well as his intellect.

And Kevin might join him in physical fitness swim classes. A shudder ran up his spine as he imagined the boy swimming next to him, or lifting himself out of the pool, water streaming off his back and shoulders. Edd shook his head and pushed his face under the water. He had never had thoughts like these before. He carefully shampooed his hair and tried to keep his mind anywhere but Kevin's physique, but just as one image left his head, the memory of Kevin sliding his shorts up his hips returned. Edd turned the dial on the shower all the way to cold and doused himself under it for a good minute before turning off the water.

He returned to the shared dorm room and quickly pulled a pair of pajama pants up his hips and a t-shirt over his head.

"Welcome back, dude," Kevin said from his own bed.

"Greetings," Edd responded as he crawled into his bed. He curled up on his side and closed his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Edd shook his head. "Just not feeling well."

"Maybe you shouldn't eat off that salad bar. You wouldn't believe the things they say about them. To be honest I thought you'd avoid it just because they can be so unsanitary."

Edd shuddered at the reminder and stored it in his mind to worry about another time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Kevin followed Double D down the gym hallway toward the locker rooms. His hips twitched in the pair of swim trunks that he had insisted on putting on in their room, saying that locker rooms have germs everywhere and it was much too unsanitary to change into their required attire. Kevin had complied and they walked into the pool room already changed and ready for class. The coach was already in the water, treading and waiting for the class to show up. She looked at the boys as they walked in.

"Sign in on the sheet by the door then get in here and warm up your muscles."

Kevin started walking over but realized Edd was not following. He walked back and noticed how much wider the nerds eyes had become. "Double D? What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "I—well that is, I didn't realize that we would be starting off over there and I can't, that is I never actually learned—"

"You signed up for swimming without knowing how to swim?"

"I thought perhaps they would be teaching us…"

Kevin tried to think of a way to calm the boy whose terror of the water increased with every passing second, knees shaking and his breath coming short. It occurred to him that there was a perfect solution. "Well, since it's the first day, it will probably be a light day. Maybe after we can work on it together. And I bet we can work on the coach, see if she'll let your progress establish your grade? Maybe I could even teach you myself, kind of like a class project. You could stay in the shallow end til you're ready to move on. What do you say?"

Looking slightly calmer Edd nodded.

"Okay, let's sign in then. Come on."

* * *

The water was cool as it crept up Double D's legs and chest. Most the class tread water by the coach, but Edd and Kevin stayed in the shallower end, Kevin giving Edd assurances that he'd be fine.

"Just give me a second. Stay right here, I'm going to talk to the coach." He swam off in the direction of the others, his strong arms sweeping up out of the water and propelling him forward. Double D made a mental note to research human anatomy to learn more about how the muscles worked together to create such a wonderful effect. Kevin tread water next to their coach for a few minutes, speaking in a low voice. She glanced over at Double D, nodded, then followed Kevin back to him.

"You Edd?" she asked.

He nodded. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Coach."

"Coach Crandal. And Kevin here says you don't know how to swim."

Edd looked to his feet and nodded. "That would be correct. I thought perhaps this would be an excellent opportunity in which to learn the art of swimming."

She nodded and looked at Kevin. "You say you know how?"

"Yes ma'am. I was on the swim team in high school for three years, was a life guard at the local pool, and taught swim lessons at the Y during the summers since I turned 14."

"Alright then. Teach him to swim and you'll both get A's for the semester. I'll be working with the rest of this lot the majority of the time, so do what you can here. You'll most likely need to find a time to practice that is not during this class, as I'll need the length of the pool most of the time. The schedule is posted on the locker room doors with free swim highlighted, you'll have to practice then. I'll administer a final at the end of the semester, show up both swimming and you pass," she said with a nod, before swimming back to the rest of the class.

Kevin grinned. "You ready, Nerd?"

"I didn't know you were such a well qualified teacher."

He shrugged. "I spent a lot of time at the lake as a kid. When I needed a job in high school, life guarding and teaching kids to swim seemed like a no brainer."

* * *

"Okay teacher, where should we start?"

A small shiver of excitement pulled up Kevin's spine. "Well…with kids we usually just start getting them used to the water. I uh—usually have them blow bubbles. It helps you get used to having your face in the water."

Edd eyed him nervously. "Are you really going to make me blow bubbles in the water? What if some of it gets in my mouth? Some of our classmates look like they didn't shower before entering the pool, per the rules posted on the wall."

Kevin smiled indulgently. "Come on, I'll do it with you." He knelt down in the water, blew up his cheeks, and motioned for Edd to do the same. Edd looked at him warily but didn't move so Kevin stood back up. "Look, Double D, if you want to learn to swim, your face is going to have to get wet. That's a part of swimming. There are enough chemicals in this pool that I really don't think you have to worry about being contaminated with whatever it is you think everyone else has. And you can shower afterward. If you really don't think you can do it, you can drop the class. But if you want to learn to swim and to get your physical education credit out of the way, then you're going to have to trust me." With a blush that Kevin found endearing, Edd sunk into the water at chin level. He grinned and sunk back down with him. "Alright then. Just blow a few bubbles, then I'll try to think of something better to do for this part."

So they both puffed out their cheeks and blew bubbles into the water. "There, not so bad right?"

Edd grimaced. "The idea that I put my mouth in this water is disgusting."

_I can think of somewhere else you could put your mouth, _Kevin thought. He shook his head. "Okay well let's just work on getting your face wet then. How would you be most comfortable getting used to it?"

"In my shower. Where it's clean."

Kevin shook his head. "Not an option. Come up with another."

Edd hesitated. "Perhaps—perhaps I should just—"

Kevin thought he would say quit, but surprising him Edd sunk down on his knees and pushed himself completely beneath the water. He came back up quickly with a gasp of air that would make a person think he had gone under for five minutes, rather than five seconds, but it was a start. "Good. We'll work on that more, but let's move on to flutter kicks. Come over to the edge and grab hold."

* * *

Edd showered as soon as they returned to their dorm, using the hot water to remove any residue the pool could have left on him. He pushed his face completely under the spray and scrubbed at his skin. He soaped his hair three times and washed his body twice before getting out. When he returned to the room Kevin was sprawled out on his bed, reading a text book and taking notes.

"Homework already, Kevin?" Edd said as he pulled clothes on.

Kevin glanced over his shoulder with a smile that made Edd's knees feel weak. "Yeah. Got practice tonight and this chapter is due Wednesday. I don't want to get behind already."

"I didn't realize you were so studious."

He shrugged. "I try to keep on top of it all. Sports are only going to get me so far." He returned to the book laid out in front of him.

Edd was surprised at the good sense of that statement but said nothing. Instead he pulled out his own textbook and started in on his math homework. After about an hour his stomach was growling and he stood, stretching his arms behind his head.

Kevin looked up and closed his book. He rubbed his eyes. "Finally done with that. Goddamn that was a long chapter. Want to get some grub?"

"I was thinking precisely the same thing. The muscles in my stomach seem to be pushing at nothing creating the most unpleasant noise. A bit of lunch seems to be just the cure."

They walked down the stairs of their building and across campus. Edd followed behind Kevin on the stairs and couldn't help but notice that Kevin had a nicely shaped backside. He pinched the inside of his wrist. He had never had those thoughts before and didn't want to start now. Not when he finally had the opportunity to start his life. He didn't need the messiness of emotions to distract him from the ultimate goal.

But much as he tried, while he followed Kevin to the dining hall, he couldn't stop watching the way that Kevin's hips swayed and the way the musculature of his legs and lower back played into the movement of his hips and posterior. He tried thinking of a difficult math problem that had given him a bit of trouble, or of a way to learn to swim without having to be in the pool with other people, but the math problem didn't distract him and thinking of being in the pool only reminded him of the proximity to Kevin's shirtless form and the way the muscles in his shoulders flexed when he swam to talk to their coach.

* * *

Kevin felt pretty sure that Double D was checking out his ass on the way to dinner, but tried to think of another possible reason that the boy would be so focused on his backside. It was possible the boy was so caught up in a thought he didn't realize where he was looking. The dork often lost himself in thought. He would be acting completely normal but would suddenly be lost looking off at something Kevin couldn't see.

They sat at a table toward the front of the room and ate quietly. "What happened to your wrist? That wasn't there this morning," Kevin said pointing to a bruise on the inside of his left wrist.

"Oh um I must have knocked it against something. In the shower."

The image of Edd knocking anything in the shower flooded Kevin's mind briefly. He just nodded and looked out the window. He looked back at Edd to see him gazing in his direction. "So which lab section were you placed in for chemistry?"

"I believe section C, Thursdays at two in the afternoon, though I would have to consult my schedule for absolute certainty. In which section were you placed?"

Kevin felt the heat in his chest. "I was put in C too. Want to be lab partners if we get the choice? I mean I'm not great but I'll try not to slow you down. And my grades aren't terrible."

"That would be quite agreeable," Edd said with a nod. "If you wouldn't mind, perhaps we could propose a knowledge trade? I obviously need your assistance to fulfill my physical education requirement, and if you need assistance in chemistry or perhaps another class, I would be amenable to tutoring you. That's not to say that you do need help but if—"

"Don't worry, Nerd. I understand what you're saying. And I was gunna help you with swimming either way, but I'll definitely let you know if I get stuck in any of my classes. I need to keep a three point oh to keep my scholarships and stay on the teams."

"I am certainly available for tutoring. And you will always know where to find me."

Kevin laughed a little. "Yeah. If you're not in our room I'm guessing you'll be at the library."

"Most probably."

"You done eatin'?"

Edd nodded and picked up his tray. Kevin took the lead out of the cafeteria back to their dorm room. He was distinctly aware of Edd's eyes on his ass again. He smiled to himself and wondered if he should pursue his feelings or wait for the dork to come around on his own. He wondered if Edd had ever kissed another person. Or if he had ever even considered dating.

* * *

Edd had never given much thought to his sexuality before. If pressed he might have said he was asexual. But the development of his feelings for Kevin pushed him to wonder. After copious amounts of research he was well assured that sexuality was much more fluid than the media would have had him believe. After dinner he spent numerous hours researching in the library and on any database he could think of that explained human sexuality in any detail. He learned that it was normal, even if one identified as completely straight, to perhaps have an exception for another male. With that in mind he surmised it was possible to believe oneself to be unburdened by the throws of human sexuality, and find instead that one did see exception in his roommate.

He was relieved to have given into his sense of embarrassment and taken up occupancy in an individual study room, for at least half the websites he attempted to view were actually pornographic materials. The first three showed a woman being pummeled by a man while she moaned and groaned. Eddy had shown him plenty of that as they reached their pubescent years, never managing to catch his interest. Edd quickly left those pages, color rising in his cheeks each time. But when the forth showed two young men engaged in various sexual positions, Edd watched more closely, wondering if his own body would respond to another's in such a way. Specifically if what he was feeling for Kevin was more akin to the sexual endeavors which he watched with growing interest, or if he merely had never thought to have a friend who did not demean his every thought yet depend on his intelligence.

At ten o'clock he left the library and returned to the dorm. He walked to the elevator and stood patiently while it descended back to the first floor. The doors opened and he entered. Just as they were starting to close a voice called, "Hey, hold the elevator!"

Edd pressed the door open button and waited. A sweating and mud streaked Kevin got into the elevator, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder and his red hat covering his strawberry blond hair.

"Oh, hello there, Kevin," Edd said, feeling more shy than usual.

"Hey, Dork." The doors closed.

Edd looked anywhere but at his roommate, while Kevin tried not to eye him in the reflective doors. "You uh—coming back from the library then?" Kevin finally said while they waited to reach the fifth floor.

"Yes. Soccer practice, I might assume?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah. First real game is Saturday."

Edd tried to remove the freshly remembered pornographic imagery from his mind, but he could only replace one of the men's faces with Kevin's, making him blush bright enough to match his t-shirt. "That must be very—very daunting."

Kevin shrugged. "I'm not starting. I might go in after half-time, but we'll see how coach feels."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. They walked down the hall silently and once back in the room, Kevin left almost immediately to remove the mud and sweat.

Edd tried to bury his thoughts in piles of homework. When that didn't work, and the image of the mud sliding off Kevin's toned body still pervaded his every thought, he did what he had always done in crisis at home: he cleaned. He borrowed some cleaning solutions from the housekeeper's closet at the end of the hall and began scrubbing the floors, windows, desks, bed frames, and everything else that he could possibly think to clean.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kevin groaned as Edd's tongue traced the engorged head of his cock. One hand enveloped the base, pumping slightly, while the other gripped his ass for balance, kneading the tight muscles beneath the surface of his heated skin. The steam rose around them and his legs were still tangled in the soaked and twisted material that was his swim trunks. The locker room showers ran at full blast, soaking both boys, water running into Edd's eyes and over his sucking mouth. His breath came quick as Double D took more of his length into his mouth, eyes glinting with mischief as he gazed upward. His cheeks twitched, as if trying to hold back a smile while he worked the head and shaft with lips and tongue. Kevin felt himself getting closer to the edge. Nails dug into the cheeks of his ass where Edd's hand gripped and he felt the roiling low in his belly, signaling that he would come in seconds—

The alarm went off and Kevin awoke, painfully hard and frustrated. His first reaction was to curse the bad timing of his alarm, but he quickly realized it sounded for a reason and that he had class soon. He glanced over at his roommate's bed, unsure if he should get out of bed with such an obvious erection. Luckily, it appeared Edd had already left the room; the bed was neatly made and his backpack no longer hung off the post. He got up and dressed quickly, trying to ignore the throbbing of his groin. He had a long lecture ahead of him in Statistics and it could only be made longer with new images to fodder his fantasies. He briefly considered trying to take care of himself before class, but a glance at his cell phone showed he had slept through his alarm for at least twenty minutes and he didn't have the time for anything before class. And if he wasted any more time he'd be running. So he left for class, aching and trying not to think about the dream that had been interrupted.

* * *

Double D sat in the lecture hall, waiting for his biology class to start. It was the third class of the semester and he was getting used to the professor's lecture style. He had his seat picked out, near to the front of the hall but not in the first row. His desk top was perfectly organized with his notebook, a pen for note taking, and though it didn't fit on the desk top, the book close at hand in case he needed to look up a detail for his notes. Other students filtered into the hall, taking their seats, the majority sitting near the back where they could sleep without being noticed.

One of the students walked in and walked up to Edd. She was pretty, with bright blue eyes and brown hair cropped at chin level. She smiled brightly and a diamond stud in her nostril caught the light. "Hi, mind if I sit here?" she asked brightly, indicating the seat next to Edd.

"Oh, certainly. Please do take a seat."

"Much obliged. Wilhelmina," she said, sticking a hand out.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm Edd."

"You new here? I don't think I've seen you around campus."

Edd nodded. "I'm a freshman."

"In a sophomore biology class? Shoot you must be smart."

"My senior thesis was quite heavy in biology. Paired with my AP scores, the registrar said this class would be much more to my liking than the freshman introductory class."

Wilhelmina nodded. "What was that thesis on?"

Edd began to explain, getting into the details of his theory and the findings.

"Aren't you the cutest when you talk about something you love?" She reached over and gripped his forearm. She glanced over her shoulder at the clock. "Is it just me or is Professor Monty late?"

Edd checked his watch. "It does appear that he is a bit tardy. Perhaps we missed some sort of email?"

The smiling girl pulled out her cell phone and started tapping the screen. She shook her head. "Nope, no new emails from him. There is one from security though, reminding us to get parking permits before the end of the day or we'll be ticketed. Whatever." She stashed her phone back in the messenger bag next to her feet. "How long do we have to wait before we can leave?"

"Another seven minutes and thirty-six seconds."

She laughed. "Alright then. So are you liking your classes so far?"

"They're most rewarding."

"What else are you taking?" Double D listed off his courses and Wilhelmina whistled low under her breath. "Biology and chemistry? You're a science major, aren't you?"

Edd nodded. "I wish to continue my studies in entomology. I'm particularly interested in rainforest species but I've been assured that I could easily change my mind once I delve fully into my studies."

Wilhelmina nodded.

"What are you studying?"

She smiled. "Art. Painting and sculpture." She described her most recent endeavor into painting figures in class, the angles and light source making such drastic differences on each portrait that her class produced. She mentioned the colors and interpretations each person had found within their use.

"Oh that sounds fascinating. I'm afraid I've never had any artistic inclinations."

"How're we looking on time?"

Edd checked his watch again. "It looks like he is officially late enough that we could leave." Edd looked around the lecture hall at the other students. Most were packing their bags back up and getting up to leave. Edd began to follow suit, returning his belongings to his bag.

"Hey what're you going to do with the free time?"

"Well I was just going to go back to my room and work on a paper for history."

"You've got a paper already?" Wilhelmina stood up next to him and started walking out of the lecture hall with him. "Who do you have?"

"Dr. Drake."

"Oh yeah. She's a tough one. Preps you for classes later though." She stopped and turned to look at him. "So I don't know if you've heard, but tomorrow night there's a party at the soccer house, to celebrate the first home game. Would you want to go?"

Edd bit his lip but nodded. "My roommate is on the team, but yes, that would be enjoyable."

She frowned a bit. "What's wrong with your roommate?"

"Oh, no. Nothing's wrong with him. He's quite an agreeable living partner. His teammates just don't really…like my company."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. No one cares at a party. And even if they do, it's not a big deal. Everyone will be too drunk to notice."

"But I would love to go."

She smiled. "Good."

* * *

When Kevin returned to his room, he was looking forward to a shower and being able to brush his teeth. He had been right; his Statistics class had been doubly torturous imagining Double D's big eyes gazing up at him while his tongue teased his cock. But when he opened the door he was greeted by a girl sitting on Edd's bed. His first thought was that she was very pretty; his second that he was in the wrong room. Then he heard his roommate's voice as he explained something that Kevin didn't quite catch.

"Greetings, Kevin. This is Wilhelmina, she's in my biology lecture."

He glanced at the girl again. "Hey." He cringed a bit, wondering if it would be okay to shower regardless. He decided he didn't care and started to strip off his shirt. "Sorry, man I gotta shower. Overslept this morning, didn't get a chance." He left his shorts on and grabbed a towel and his shower stuff.

"Oh that's okay, I actually have to get to studio time anyway." She stole a glance at his body then looked back to Double D. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Certainly. I look forward to it."

"Good. Nice to meet you, Kevin." She picked up her bag and left the room.

"Sorry, man. I didn't mean she had to leave. I just didn't want to stink around a new person."

"No, it was fine. She had mentioned just before you came in that her studio class would start soon."

"Well I'm going to go—" he motioned vaguely in the direction of the communal shower and left quickly. Two of the three stalls were taken, so Kevin walked to the end and entered. He turned the water all the way up and let it scald his skin for a few moments, hoping that he hadn't heard Edd planning a date. He knew Edd might be interested in women, and he knew that it was good for him to date. Even knowing this, a spike of jealousy shot through his stomach and he started to dread the idea of living with Double D if it meant that he would have to watch him with a girlfriend every time he came back to his room. When the water got too hot he turned the dial all the way in the other direction, dousing himself in icy water. Finally, with a sigh, Kevin turned the water off, swathed himself in is towel, and stepped out of the shower stall. He brushed his teeth thoroughly and returned to the room.

When he returned to his room, Edd sat at his desk, pouring over a book and typing away at his computer. Kevin dressed in a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. He pulled a purple cap low on his head, over his wet hair. He fell heavily into bed and closed his eyes against the light.

"Didn't sleep well, Kevin?"

He opened one eye and looked at his roommate. "No. I had some troubling dreams."

"Oh because with the way you were groaning when I left for class this morning I thought you might be sick."

"I was having a bad dream."

"Perhaps we should cool the room. I have read that overly hot rooms make a person more prone to nightmares."

"I don't think that'll help with this sort of thing. It was probably just stress."

Edd smirked a little but nodded. "Stress. Alright then."

Eager to change subjects from his erotic dream, Kevin sat up. "So, that girl."

"Wilhelmina?"

"Yeah, Willy, she your girlfriend?"

Edd looked startled. "I don't have a girlfriend."

"I mean I know you didn't date in high school, or at least I didn't think you did, but it's college and she seemed into you and it seemed like you had a date set for tomorrow. You know, the real kind with dancing and well _dancing_." Kevin felt badly for teasing Edd about the possible date, and from the embarrassed look on his face he was doing an effective job, but he felt that Edd had done the same about his dream and it was only payback.

"Oh—I—that is I don't know. We haven't discussed—and she's a sophomore. I mean I don't think she would even like me in that way—"

Kevin fell backward on his bed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. The nerd obviously liked her and Kevin felt awash in misery and jealousy. "She likes you," he said through gritted teeth.

He heard Edd fall off his desk chair. "She what?"

"She likes you dumbass. You didn't see the way she was looking at you? And I'm betting she kept finding reasons to touch you? Yeah, she's interested in you and tomorrow is a date."

Edd sounded petrified with the simple "oh" in response.

* * *

_I apologize that this one is a little shorter than normal. The next scene I was going to write I decided needed to be its own chapter. And thank you for all the support I've gotten so far!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Edd didn't attend the game the next day. Much as he wanted to watch Kevin play, his nerves about the evening's party caught up to him; he thought attending the game would only increase his confusion. On the one hand, he liked Wilhelmina; she smiled and laughed but could hold up her end of an intelligent conversation once she got over Edd's own intelligence and interest in less than normal subjects. On the other hand, he wasn't sure that he felt strongly enough about her to consider actually dating. He certainly liked her as a friend, and he even found her attractive, but he wondered if friendship was all he felt for her. And he didn't know where Kevin fit into everything, but he had never had the sensations he felt with his roommate with anyone else.

So he spent the afternoon in the dorm, researching human sexuality, party etiquette, and anything that could tell him what to expect for the night. He briefly considered phoning Ed at home to ask for advice. He had dated in high school, but Edd figured he probably wouldn't know any better than he did about Kevin, and the thought of verbalizing it all was too embarrassing anyway. He knew the obvious answer would be to ask Kevin about his worries, because he had dated in high school and knew plenty about girls and even seemed to understand emotions pretty well, but as Kevin was part of the problem he couldn't bring it up to him either.

By six o'clock Kevin had returned, jubilant at the winning outcome of the game. Edd congratulated him whole-heartedly while he picked through his closet, trying to decide what would be most appropriate for a celebratory party. Wilhelmina wasn't going to be coming by until nine, but Edd worried that it would take him too long to look sufficiently appropriate for the cool older girl. He tried on a few different outfits, finally deciding on a pair of jeans, a long green t-shirt, and a black tie.

By the time they actually arrived at the party, it appeared it had been going for several hours. Music poured out of every open door and drunken students stumbled from room to room. Girls in short dresses and wearing too much make up laughed and wiggled in a way Edd supposed was dancing. Guys holding plastic cups watched or participated in the dancing. Wilhelmina took Edd by the hand and led him to the back of the house. Kegs sat along the back wall of what seemed to be the kitchen. She retrieved two beers and handed one to him.

Edd had never touched alcohol before. He tasted the substance in the cup experimentally and tried not to make a face at the slightly bitter flavor.

"Sorry, it's not the best, but it's free with the entry," she called to him over the music.

He nodded. He was about to respond when Kevin walked through the door of the kitchen. The way his t-shirt molded to his sculpted chest caught Edd's attention first, followed by the slightly angry face he made when he saw his roommate.

Wilhelmina saw the look as well it seemed, as she grabbed him by his tie and pulled him out of the room saying, "Come on! I want to dance. "

They wound up on the dance floor, and by the end of his first beer, Edd was beginning to find his rhythm, holding his date's hips and moving to the music.

* * *

When Kevin entered the kitchen looking for another beer, the last thing he had expected to see was Edd holding a red plastic cup to his mouth, biting the rim. He frowned as his already strung out hormones kicked into overdrive. He immediately went to the keg to get himself a beer, which he downed immediately, before refilling his cup. When he turned around the dork had disappeared.

He walked around the house, being congratulated by different party goers for making the winning goal in the last five minutes. Girls stumbled up to him, congratulating him on his amazing "field goal" before he smiled gently and turned them toward his friends. Finally he walked into a room where Chris sat with a few beautiful girls. He could see the living room, which was being used as a dance floor, through an open archway.

"Hey! I was just telling these lovely ladies about your winning goal. Elle here is particularly impressed and was hoping you'd do her the honor of a dance."

A pretty girl with dark black hair, dark rimmed eyes and full lips looked up at him. She smiled and a slight gap showed between her two front teeth. Kevin groaned. "Maybe next time. I'm—I'm not feeling real well."

Chris looked incredulous and stood. He grabbed Kevin and pulled him across the room, out of earshot of the girls. "What the hell is wrong with you, dude? She is totally hot and interested in your skinny ass."

Kevin shook his head. "I'm just not interested. I kind of—I have a thing for someone else."

"Is she into you?"

Kevin looked out the archway to see the object of his affection dancing. His hands gripped that girl's waist as she ground her backside into his groin. "I—no, I don't think so."

"Then get your ass out on the floor with that girl. As captain of the soccer team that's an order, so get your ass in gear and get that girl on the floor."

Kevin nodded and walked back over to Elle. "I'm going to get another beer, but then I would love to dance with you, if you're still interested."

Kevin pounded a third beer and poured a forth before leading the pretty girl onto the dance floor. He danced lazily, trying not to focus on his roommate or her resemblance to him. By the bottom of his forth beer, he felt fairly drunk. The girl in front of him, he could no longer remember her name, merely that she looked like Edd, ground her hips into his. He felt a slight arousal coming as he imagined his roommate as the girl.

One of the guys turned on a slower song. While still danceable, Elle turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, so they danced chest to chest, groin to groin. She looked up at him with wide, green eyes and he knew what she wanted. He closed his eyes, pretending she was actually Edd, leaned down and kissed her. Her lips were soft and she responded eagerly. So eagerly that he had to press her against a wall, one hand holding himself up in his drunken state. She slipped her tongue through his lips, deepening the kiss and grasping at the hair she could reach under the brim of his backward cap. When she pressed her groin against his, he pulled back slightly and smiled at her. "Want to go back to my place?"

She smiled and nodded and he led her from the room.

He could keep up his image, just as he had in high school.

* * *

Edd had a second beer while he and Wilhelmina were dancing and he felt loose and good. He guessed that he was a little drunk, but didn't spend the time to analyze. Wilhelmina was an excellent dancer. He caught several of the other guys in the room watching her, and even heard a few question what she was doing with him when he went for a refill on their beers. While he wondered the same thing, he felt mostly grateful that she had chosen to attend the party with him when she obviously had a few other options available to her. He bounced a little as he walked back to his date with both beers. As he handed one to her he noticed a couple hot and heavy against the wall behind her. He stared as he realized that the male counterpart of the couple was none other than Kevin. His gut twisted a little and he took a large gulp of his drink, hoping the foamy substance would make his stomach unknot.

Wilhelmina smiled at him and took a sip of her own drink. "You okay?" she asked, unaware of the scene playing out behind her.

Edd watched as Kevin led the girl from the room and out the front door.

"Edd?"

He looked back at the girl standing in front of him. "Oh of course. Shall we continue?" They continued to dance, but Edd didn't enjoy himself as much as before. After an hour Wilhelmina suggested they leave. Edd agreed and they left the noisy house and walked out into the cool night air. He followed her to a building across campus and up to the third floor. She used her key and opened the door to her own dorm room. One side of the room was brightly decorated in pinks and yellows. The other was much more muted with grays and blues. The only exception to the muted half hung over the desk: a large, red canvas painted with stark white legs and a white hand gripping what he realized were red sheets. He knew immediately which side was Wilhelmina's and walked to examine the picture.

"Did you paint this?" he asked.

She laughed a little. "It was my final project last year. My mother said it was obscene."

He continued to look at it before nodding. "I can see why she'd think so. I like it though. The imagery is quite evocative."

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you think so."

He turned toward her. "You're very good."

She flushed slightly. "Thank you. Would you like another drink? I don't have any shitty beer but I have some other things. Alcoholic and non if you don't feel like drinking anymore."

Edd considered for a moment before saying, "I'll have whatever you're having."

"Alright, two green apple wine coolers coming right up." She pulled two glass bottles with black labels out of the mini fridge and handed one to Double D. He tasted it experimentally and found he liked it much more than he had liked the beer.

"You don't drink much, do you?"

"Never before tonight." He leaned against her bed.

She smiled. "You're cute." She stood in front of him, sipping out of the bottle and rocking back and forth on her heels. Suddenly she leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss was nice, soft and lingering. She tasted like the green apple drink and watermelon lip balm. Edd scooted back on the bed and she followed him, continuing the kiss. They laid down and he felt her hand sliding up under his t-shirt. It was the most intimate he had ever willingly been with anyone; his only previous experience from childhood when the Kanker Sisters would stalk him and his friends, forcing themselves on them whenever the opportunity presented itself. Gooseflesh spread up his arms and across his thighs as Wilhelmina's hand explored his chest and collarbones. He tried to enjoy the kiss and while the sensation was pleasurable, he felt nothing truly riveting as he kissed her back.

Her hand started a slow descent following the slim line of hair down his stomach and to his belt line.

Edd broke the kiss. "Wilhelmina, I—I need to stop."

She looked at him, confusion clear in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

He didn't know how to explain that while he liked her, he couldn't get the thought of his roommate out of his mind. So he started to babble. "You're beautiful, truly you are, but this is the most intimate I've ever been with anyone and while it is very nice, I'm not sure that I—that is to say, I like you a lot but—"

"Edd, you're speaking awfully quickly. It's just sex but if you aren't ready it's fine. We can just keep kissing. No need to go further or faster than you want."

"No, it's not—I mean I'm not ready but—well, I'm not sure that I ever will be."

She shook her head as if to clear it, her lips more pink than usual from their kissing, hair slightly mussed. He worried that he had been wrong to accept the invitation to the party at all.

"I mean it as no personal offense, I just—I wasn't sure before but I'm fairly certain now that—that if I am a sexual being that I don't…" he trailed off, words failing him.

Understanding seemed to bloom in her eyes. "You don't like girls, do you?"

Thoroughly embarrassed, Edd hung his head. "It's not that I don't want to…."

She smiled kindly at him and reached for his hand. "You can't help who you are—who you like. It's not something you choose."

He looked back up at her, eyes shining with embarrassed and frustrated tears that he wouldn't allow to fall. "You…don't mind?"

She shook her head. "You're a great guy. I wouldn't want you to pretend to be anything. Especially not when it comes to sex or falling in love."

"Thank you," he mumbled.

She stayed silent for a moment before murmuring, "Actually, this kind of makes sense."

"What do you mean?" He didn't think he'd acted in a way that would traditionally have given away his still questionable sexuality.

"There was a reflection in the TV at the party. I saw the couple behind us when you kinda froze with our last beers. I assumed you were being a bit prudish, so I kept my hands to myself while we were in public. But it was him, wasn't it? Your roommate?"

Edd hung his head again. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

He shook his still hanging head. "Up until a week ago I would have said that I was asexual. Kevin—well that's a rather recent development. An unexpected one at that. I'm not sure how I feel about him."

She leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Do you want to watch a movie? I can't help you figure this all out right now, but I can at least try to distract you."

He actually wanted to go back to his room and sleep but the image of Kevin and that girl against the wall in the soccer house played through his mind. He supposed they would keep the room occupied for some time. Even if they didn't, he wasn't sure he could face Kevin right away. So he agreed to stay, a distraction sounding more appealing by the second.

Wilhelmina put a disk in the DVD player and pressed play. Edd had never seen the film before, deeming it too stupid when it was in theaters but he found it to be surprisingly cleverer than he had expected. He actually laughed through much of it. He sat with Wilhelmina on her bed, an arm around her shoulders to accommodate the small bed he told himself; in truth they were both slim enough they could have sat comfortably side by side without the physical connection, but Edd needed the comfort and Wilhelmina wasn't about to deny him it. He fell asleep next to her that night, exhausted and still a little drunk.

* * *

The room smelled like sex, and hot shame boiled through Kevin. He had been so drunk the night before that he barely remembered the source of the smell. Images of it flashed through his mind, but he couldn't remember how one event necessarily led to the other. She had gone hours before, trying to sneak out without waking him. He let her think that she had managed it. He guessed it was significantly later than he usually allowed himself to sleep in, but he couldn't drag himself out of bed. The shade was still pulled and he couldn't tell what time it actually was, but found he didn't care.

Edd hadn't come back last night.

He could guess why.

A low buzzing sounded from somewhere in the room and Kevin finally rousted himself to look for his phone. Before he could find it he found a pair of shorts and pulled them up his hips, in case Edd decided to return. The last thing he needed was to explain why he was walking around their shared living space without a stitch of clothing on. He searched the floor for the jeans he'd worn the night before. He found them strewn across the room, next to Edd's bed. The phone was in his pocket still and he checked it, squinting at the bright light in the still dark room. A text shone bright on the screen from one of the guys on the team, Jason, one of the few that he actually liked. Kevin tapped out a quick response that he didn't want to meet up for lunch but thanks anyway and looked around the room.

Disgusted with himself, he pulled a tissue and picked up the used condom from the floor. He threw it out then took the nearly empty bag to the trash room. When he got back to the room, he proceeded to clean as much as he could. He did a load of laundry and tried to remove any and all traces of the girl he had brought back. A part of him knew he wanted to clean to literally wipe the slate clean of his own self disgust, but a small part knew better; he was cleaning for Edd. Even if the boy had a girlfriend, he wanted to make him happy, and a clean room was a small step to help that along. Finally, he dragged himself to the shower.

When Edd returned to the room, Kevin sat at his desk working on an introductory paper for his composition class. Neither boy acknowledged the night before.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Monday morning started early and in the pool. Kevin still couldn't acknowledge what had happened Saturday night after the party, and he couldn't bring up why Edd hadn't come home that night either. So they ignored it and focused on their classes instead. And the first thing he knew he had to do was teach Edd to swim, even if it kicked his nerves into hyper drive again. He tried to focus on the teaching technique, rather than the half naked boy in front of him. He stretched and yawned widely, feeling his jaw pop with the strength of it. He hadn't slept well since Saturday, disturbed more and more often by dreams.

Edd eased himself into the empty pool. Gooseflesh rippled across his shoulders and chest.

"Double Dork, can you get your ass in the pool faster? I have an eight o'clock class and I'll need to put on actual pants before it."

"That would be a change," Edd mumbled.

"Hey, I don't have to do this. You said it yourself: I don't need the physical education credit between the soccer team and the baseball team."

"My apologies, Kevin. I do appreciate your helping me." He slipped fully into the pool again. "Where do you want to start?"

"Are you comfortable getting your face wet?"

Edd gave him a wary look. "Do I have to blow bubbles again?"

"Are you comfortable in the water?" he said gruffly.

He nodded and sunk down, submerging his shoulders.

"Okay then. We'll try floating, I guess. Come out here."

"Out there? It's deeper there. Mightn't I drown?"

Kevin sighed. "Do you really think I'd let you drown?"

Edd shook his head and carefully waded out to the impatient Kevin. His toes barely touched the ground with his head still above water.

"Alright, I'm guessing you don't know how to float?" He shook his head. Kevin demonstrated by floating on his back for a few moments before setting himself up right again. "We'll take this slow. It's really simple. Fill your lungs up with air, and pull your feet up."

Edd tried but as soon as he started to sink a little, he panicked, flailing and causing himself to sink faster.

Kevin put a hand under his arm and took him back to slightly shallower water. "Dude, you have to be more calm. If you panic in the water you're more likely to get yourself in trouble or hurt someone. Seriously. I've been a lifeguard for a while now, I promise you won't drown. Now let's go back out a little and try again, okay?"

He nodded again, still looking very worried about his prospect on living.

"Come back out. We'll do this like learning to ride a bike."

"How do you mean?"

"Just trust me."

Edd waded back out.

"Deep breath."

He breathed in as deeply as possible.

"Pull your legs up." When Edd compiled Kevin placed both his hands under the boy's back. "You can breathe, just make sure you keep some air in your lungs. And whatever you do, don't panic. If you hit me, I'll drop you and then we'll really be in trouble."

Edd nodded with his eyes closed but didn't say anything, seeming to focus on deep, even breaths.

His body was warm on Kevin's hands and he realized it was the first time he'd ever actually touched the kid, other than the occasional beating in their childhood. He had a hand on the small of Edd's back and the other between his shoulder blades. He could follow the line of hair down his stomach with his eyes and feel the breaths that kept the boy alive. Slowly, he removed his hand from the small of his back, careful not to startle him. When he maintained his balance in the water, he removed the second hand and stepped back a pace. Edd floated peacefully, seemingly without realizing that he supported himself entirely. Kevin let him float for another few minutes before stepping forward and replacing his hands.

While the pressure leaving his body hadn't alerted Edd to any changes, Kevin's hands finding their way back did. His eyes shot open, wide and scared. For a terrifying second he thought that Edd would start to flail again, but the nerd seemed to regain his composure and took another breath before attempting to right himself.

"How long did I do that for?"

Kevin glanced at the clock on the far wall. "I didn't time it or anything but I'd say about three minutes. But uh—speaking of the time it's seven-thirty and if I don't get going now—"

"Oh gracious! Of course. Let's go."

They left the gym and walked back to their dorm. Kevin immediate grabbed his shower supplies and quickly washed away the chlorine before heading to class.

* * *

Edd met Wilhelmina for breakfast at 8:30. While he waited at a table for her to arrive he reflected on the morning's swim lesson. Kevin's hands on his back had been a particularly nice surprise, even if he'd had to spend more time trying to control his body's reaction to the closeness more than the act of floating. He wondered briefly if the distraction had in fact helped him succeed.

Wilhelmina sat down across from him with a bowl of cereal and two slices of wheat toast. "Still not sleeping?" she said by way of greeting.

He shook his head.

"You like him."

He nodded. "I'm pretty sure. But that doesn't really matter."

"You could just tell him. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"He could reject me cruelly and request a room switch."

She laughed. "He's not going to get a new roommate. And I really doubt that he'll be cruel, even if he does reject you." He groaned. "But he might not reject you at all."

"Please, don't say that. We both saw him leave with that floozy. We can both guess where they went and what they did. The presence of a newly and extraordinarily cleaned room when I returned bespeaks that much."

"I know but…."

He shook his head and picked at the omelet sitting in front of him. "It doesn't matter."

"Edd…she kinda looked like you."

He looked up sharply. "That is cruel. She most certainly did not."

"She kinda does. I kinda know her. I mean, the resemblance isn't doppelganger or something but I mean…she has dark hair, green eyes, and she even has a gap between her teeth like you do."

He sighed. "Even still. That means nothing really. Kevin has a type. Every girl he dated in high school had dark hair, except for Nazz, but that was short lived. The other features are mere coincident."

She collected her things. "You ready for bio?"

He nodded and threw away most of his uneaten omelet.

* * *

Tuesday was the first day of Chemistry lab and as previously agreed upon, Kevin and Edd chose to be lab partners. In the first half of the lesson they went over basics in class of lab safety, where instruments were kept and how to clean them, and their basic functions. They covered what to do in case of chemical spills, burns, or any other mishaps.

Kevin found the lesson unbelievably simple and tried his best not to yawn through it. Edd, though taking notes rapidly, seemed equally bored. When they broke for ten minutes half way through Kevin stood up and stretched, leaning back. "I'm gunna go get a pop from the vending machine. Wanna come?"

Edd nodded and followed him. "What has you in this class?" he asked as they walked down the hall.

"Me? I want to go in to pharmacology. Be a pharmacist at the very least, though developing drugs is the ideal."

"Somehow that isn't surprising," he said dryly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He felt stung by the remark. "You know you've been really sassy lately. I've only heard you say stuff like this to—" It occurred to him he'd only heard Edd speak so plainly and with so much sass to his loser friends back home. He wondered what that said about their relationship. He pushed some coins in the machine and punched a random button, hoping whatever came out would have caffeine.

"I'm sorry. I oft times forget that you are not used to my humor. I mean no offense in it."

"No forget about it. I'm just a little touchy lately." The word touchy brought to life in him a fantasy from the pool that he wished it hadn't.

"You don't seem to have been sleeping well lately. I've noticed you tossing in your sleep."

"Sorry…don't mean to keep you up."

"Oh…you don't. I'm not sleeping well either."

They walked back in the lab while Kevin cracked open the pop can. "What's got you so wound up?"

"I—well, nothing. I just can't sleep."

With a semi-forced grin he said, "Well you could always try staying over with Willy again. I'm sure you'd sleep well then."

"Oh, no. That wouldn't—I mean, if you're implying that we would be physical—it's a false assumption. We're merely friends." The dork's face was so red Kevin worried he'd broken a blood vessel.

"Hooking up as friends? Nice."

He shook his head again. "No. Just friends. No physicality of any kind."

Hope blossomed unbidden in his chest but the professor started in on the second half of lab and he could pursue the subject no longer. After lab, Edd rushed out, mentioning a biology lab he had to work on over his shoulder. Kevin sighed and went back to their room to gather his things for soccer practice.

* * *

Edd didn't have a project to work on. He went immediately to Wilhelmina's room and knocked on the door persistently. A girl he hadn't seen before opened the door with an annoyed look. "May I help you?"

"Oh dear me. I'm terribly sorry, I'm looking for Wilhelmina."

She pulled the door open and pointed to her bed. "She'll be back soon. Take a seat if you want." Edd carefully took off his shoes before he climbed into her bed and curled up. "I should introduce myself, I'm Edd."

She looked up from her desk where she typed away on her computer. "Elle."

He looked at her more closely and thought he recognized her but couldn't be sure. She had dark hair and a full mouth but he couldn't place her. He tried not to stare and had almost placed her when the door opened and Wilhelmina walked in balancing a coffee cup on a stack of books.

"Hey, Elle. I grabbed the book from the library for you."

"Mina, there's someone on your bed."

She set her books down on her desk. "Oh, hey, Edd. Everything okay? Did you um—do what I suggested?"

He shook his head. "I got close but—"

"How about we go for a walk?"

He nodded. "It was nice to meet you, Elle. " She was looking at a chart on the wall, face in profile when it hit him where he knew her from.

Wilhelmina dragged him from the room before he could say anything.

"You said you knew her, not that you lived with her!" he hissed as they walked down the crowded hall.

"What did you want me to say? My roommate, who happens to be a really nice girl, hooked up with the person you may or may not like? I didn't quite expect you to meet her on your own."

"But—but—" He shook his head. "No I guess you're right."

She nodded sympathetically. "Now, you almost told him?"

He explained the exchange in chemistry as much as he could. "I wanted to just say it, but in class? The professor started speaking just as we were sitting down again and…I still don't know if I should."

She chewed her lower lip as they sat on the bench outside her building.

"What?"

"She…mentioned something about the…activities that night."

Edd groaned. "I don't want to know."

She nodded. "Alright. Do you mind if I?" She pulled out a pack of cigarettes, extracted one of the slim rolls, and lit one. "Sorry I don't usually but sometimes I just need one."

He sat quietly while she smoked, trying not to breathe deeply while she puffed.

"She said afterward, when he passed out, he talked in his sleep. And that he kept mumbling about 'double d's. She assumed he was into her tits but I know how you spell your name. I know you said you didn't want to know but it seemed like something you should know."

Color rose high in Edd's cheeks. "Her presumption could have been correct."

She tossed her dead butt in the grass and gave him a pointed look. "You really should just talk to him you know."

Edd stared off at the quad in the distance where some of the seniors were playing Ultimate Frisbee. "I've never done any of this before. I wouldn't know where to start."

* * *

Kevin returned from practice sore and exhausted. The last thing he wanted to do was work on a paper for his English class but it was due in the morning. Edd sat in his bed, reading from a textbook Kevin was fairly certain was not for any classes he had on his schedule. He went to clean up quickly and sat down to finish his paper.

Edd sighed and stretched.

Kevin finally said what had been on his mind since the afternoon. "So you and Willy are just friends?"

"Yes, that is what I said."

"So…Saturday night?"

"What about it?" Edd was starting to sound nervous.

"You uh—stayed the night with her. Or you at least didn't come back to the room."

Edd eyed him. "No, I stayed there. We were watching a movie and I fell asleep. But she was umm interested in other pursuits."

"And you weren't?"

"N-no. I wasn't. That is, I'm not. Can we drop this subject? I'm rather uncomfortable."

"Sorry. Can I just ask one more?"

He sighed loudly. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't understand your meaning."

"Why weren't you interested in her? She's hot and all. And you seem to like her."

Edd's face flushed. "I have affections for another person. She quite understood."

Kevin walked closer to Double D. "Who do you like, Double D?" His voice was huskier than he realized it would be, but it was too late to take back the words.

Edd licked his lips. "I'd rather not say."

"Why not?"

"You said we could drop the subject. Please, I'd rather not talk about it anymore. It is not important that we discuss my uninspiring love life."

Kevin nodded. "Sorry." He stared at the boy a moment longer. "Hey, Edd?"

"Yes, Kevin?"

Kevin didn't think; he acted. He took hold of the nerd's face, pulled him close, and pressed his lips to Edd's. For a terrifying moment Edd struggled in surprise and Kevin worried he'd made a huge mistake; but Edd responded by molding his own lips to Kevin's and placing a hand behind his neck, grabbing the ends of his hair.

When the kiss broke Kevin looked at the boy, flushed and slightly embarrassed. "I don't know if I should apologize or not—I've wanted to do that for a long time now."

"Why should you apologize? You were the person to whom I referred," Edd said, before leaning forward and kissing the boy gently.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Edd lay in the crook of Kevin's arm, despite being the taller. Kevin smiled contentedly. Edd's lips were pressed to his neck and his hand lay on his chest, lightly tracing circles into the sensitive flesh between his pectoral muscles. He didn't want to bring it up, but he knew he had to.

"Hey, Edd?"

He nodded to indicate he was listening, pushing his lips further into his neck.

"Okay, don't take this the wrong way but can we keep this…quiet?"

The boy pulled away slightly and looked at him with concern.

"It's not that I don't like you, because I have for years now, but—my place on the team. I need those scholarships to stay here and athletics aren't the most accepting places for, well, couples like us. If the guys found out—"

"They can't kick you off the team; that would be considered prejudice based on sexual orientation and you could sue for much more than the sum of your scholarships if they did."

"No, I know that. They wouldn't kick me off the team but the guys could make life hell until I quit. Or until I made a mistake that got me kicked off for another reason, or hurt. You know how people can be. If it weren't for the scholarships it wouldn't matter, but if I lose those—"

He settled back into his arm. "I understand." He was quiet a moment. "You used the term 'couple.'"

He felt heat flush his neck and up to his cheeks. "Did I?"

Edd nodded. "Is that what we are?"

"I don't—I mean I didn't really think about it. If you'd rather take it slow before using the word, easing into it, I get it."

He shook his head. "I like it. And if we're keeping things quiet, it doesn't much matter what term is used."

"Just for now. Once my place on the team solidifies, it won't be as big a deal. But as one of the new guys…."

"It's fine. Why don't we worry about terminology if and when the time comes?"

Kevin looked him in the eye. "It will come." He felt guilty as hell for bringing it up now, but he knew it was a matter of staying at school or being forced home to community college. Edd had received an academic scholarship, they couldn't take that away unless his grades slipped or he got into serious trouble; they both knew that wouldn't happen. If Kevin were forced off even one of the teams he had received scholarships for, he would have to drop out.

To try to suppress the guilt he pressed his lips to the boy's. He seemed to stiffen in surprise again before softening into the kiss. Kevin teased the closed seam of his lips with the tip of his tongue. When Edd complied and opened his own mouth a little, Kevin nipped at his bottom lip, eliciting a groan he had wanted to hear for too long. He dragged his mouth and tongue down Edd's neck, kissing and nipping at the sensitive flesh, breathy moans escaping Edd occasionally. When he worked his way back up to his ear, taking the tender lobe between both teeth and sucking lightly, Edd let out a groan Kevin had only heard in his most explicit dreams. He smiled and kissed the dork on the mouth again. If an earlobe could do that to the poor kid, he couldn't wait to find out what other noises he'd make.

He could feel Edd's length press against his hip but tried his best to ignore it, wanting to afford him the opportunity to set pace. As it was the boy seemed shaky and out of his element; Kevin slowed himself and let Edd take the lead. Edd's kisses were softer, less sure and more experimental. He teased Kevin with his tongue but never tried to fully French kiss him; the tease was maddening. He nibbled Kevin's lip, small bites across the lower lip that actually started to arouse him more than he would have expected. With a shy smile he followed Kevin's own path down his throat, stopping to spend time at the collarbone and the junction of his shoulder and neck. His hands explored his torso, gently kneading muscles and heating the skin over them. Kevin felt the boy grind his pelvis into his hip and nearly lost control.

"Edd—" he said, voice ragged and uneven.

The nerd looked up, eyes wide but not entirely innocent. "Yes?"

"I—I need you to stop for minute or I'm going to lose control and jump you."

He gave a coy smile but stopped his ministrations to his throat and let his hands lie still on his ribs. "Might I ask one thing of you?"

"Anything," he responded, slowly regaining control over himself, his mind clearing of the lust that hazed his vision earlier.

"No more girls."

"What?"

"Well, if we're to—that is if we're a couple as you stated earlier, there shouldn't be any other people intruding on our…relationship, I suppose you could say. So I guess I should say no other boys either but I thought that went without saying."

Kevin nodded. "That'll be harder to explain to the guys, but I'll think of something."

"Truly?"

"Yeah. You're right." If he were to be honest he hadn't thought of it, mostly because he hadn't wanted to be with those girls in the first place. Each time he'd taken a girl home, whether in high school or college—it made no difference—he'd had to be drunk or high. His body's response to Edd had been much different than the forced kisses with the others.

Edd kissed him deeply in reply, eliciting the new and exciting response again.

* * *

"Oh my god. What is that?" Wilhelmina stopped Edd while they were walking away from their biology lab, pulling the collar of his t-shirt over to get a better look at the purple-red mark at the juncture of his neck and clavicle. "Is that a hickey?" she hissed.

Edd turned bright red in reply.

"It is!" She hugged him. "Finally told him then?"

"I might have. But please don't say anything to anyone else."

They were walking to his dorm before lunch in the cafeteria. Edd scanned his ID to access the building and they entered the elevator alone.

"What do you mean don't say anything to anyone else?"

"He's here on an athletic scholarship. Without it he wouldn't be able to afford the tuition. He's afraid of what his teammates might do if they were to discover the truth."

She nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. Not like I have anyone to tell anyway. Can't exactly tell Elle. She's really the only one I'd have mentioned it to anyway. 'Hey remember that guy you hooked up with? Yeah he's gay for his roommate.' That conversation would go over about as well as North Korea's nuclear testing. But you gotta spill."

A smile tugged at his cheeks. When they got back in the room, Edd told her what had transpired the night before, or at least the basics of what had happened. He didn't think she needed all the intimate details.

Kevin walked in just after Edd finished telling her what had happened.

"Hey, Edd. Hey, Willy."

She gave him a pointed look with a smirk.

"You told her, didn't you?" he said. There was no anger in his voice and only a trace of accusation.

"I figured it out on my own. If you're going to leave love marks on a kid who supposedly isn't dating, you might want to hide them a bit better."

Kevin blushed a little but nodded. He mumbled something about things getting a little out of control and not meaning to leave it, which earned him a raised eyebrow from Wilhelmina.

"I might buy that excuse from him," she jabbed her thumb over at Edd, "but you, sir, have more experience than that."

"Not experiences that I actually, you know, liked."

She shrugged. "Even still, I'm sure you know how to not leave a hickey. Or at least to leave them where he can cover them."

He nodded.

"I'm just saying if you want this whatever you're calling it to remain secret, you might want to do a better job of hiding the evidence, or it's going to get out quickly. It happened yesterday and I figured it out."

Edd looked at her. "Do you think anyone else will have?"

She pursed her lips and tapped a finger against them. Finally she said, "Probably not. If anyone asks, I gave you that, okay? But make it clear that it was a onetime thing. No offense or anything, but when I'm single, I like to reap the benefits of singledom."

Edd nodded in understanding. "Did you want to get lunch still?"

She checked the alarm clock perched on Edd's desk. "Yeah I've got time. You going to come with, lover boy?"

"Yeah, all right."

* * *

They ate trying to ignore the mark peaking out of Edd's shirt. Wilhelmina smirked, catching Kevin eyeing the bite. The sight of it gave Kevin a deep sense of satisfaction, as did the matching mark Edd had left on the right side of his chest, which he had seen while brushing his teeth that morning.

After eating Wilhelmina made an excuse about class or a project she was working on and left Kevin and Edd to walk back to their dorm with a wave. When they arrived in the room and the door shut, they felt suddenly shy.

Edd cleared his throat. "How was class?"

Kevin's eyes were still pinned to the hickey when he answered, "Fine. Pop quiz in Statistics. Think I aced it though."

"That's very good," Edd said, stepping closer. He had a couple inches on Kevin, looking down at him when they were nose to nose, but not so much that Kevin had to step on his toes to reach him.

Kevin placed his hands on the boy's hips and hauled him closer. "How were your classes?" He buried his mouth in Edd's neck, carefully not leaving marks.

Edd's gasp made Kevin smile. "It—it was most enjoyable." His voice crept high at the end when Kevin bit down lightly on his collarbone. "We did a lab on ocean currents today."

"Is that so?" Kevin nudged Edd backward, lips still tracing his neck and chest, until he reached the bed. He felt Edd nodding. "You done for the day now?"

"I have one more lesson at four-thirty."

"Lucky me. That's three hours to kill."

"You don't have any more classes?" he said, seemingly trying to stay casual and failing.

Kevin shook his head slowly. "I managed to get all my classes between eight and twelve-thirty on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."

"And you've done your homework?"

Kevin pulled back and gave him an odd look. "Yes, Mother I've done my homework," he bit off the words sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just wouldn't want either of us to fall behind in class due to the attentions of the other. Education is of the utmost importance."

"I've been balancing a social life and my school work on my own for a while now and managed good grades. Don't worry about it. Just kiss me now, Dork. Please."

"Well since you asked so nicely." Edd leaned down and kissed Kevin gently.

Kevin reached under the boy and lifted him on the bed, crawling up on top of him an instant later. He propped his body up on his elbows while he kissed Edd, holding most of his weight off him. Kevin kissed Edd fiercely, until his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He tried to ignore the ringing buzz between his leg and Edd's.

"Kevin, perhaps you should answer that."

He sighed and rolled off the boy to answer the call. "Yeah?"

"Dude, slip n' slide on the quad. Get out here!"

"Nah man, I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I'm working with my lab partner for chemistry. I'll have to meet up with you guys another time. I'll see you at practice." He hung up the phone before his teammate could argue.

"Chemistry, huh?"

Kevin shrugged. "It's not a lie, just not the chemistry work they'll be thinking of."

Edd smiled and his gap showed.

Kevin put a hand under Edd's chin and pulled him forward gently. He answered the question that had been plaguing him for months by kissing the boy. He worked his tongue into his mouth and gently felt the gap in his teeth, slightly sharp at the corners and slick across the surface. Edd kissed him back, his hands working his way onto Kevin's shoulders.

* * *

"Don't go," Kevin said, still lying on Edd's bed, lips bruised from kissing.

"I have class. And you have soccer practice in twenty-seven minutes."

"Skip it," he said huskily.

The tone of his voice made Edd blush. "I have to go. I'll see you when you get back from practice." He bent down to the boy sprawled across his bed and brushed a kiss over his lips. "Do behave yourself."

Edd hurried to class, nearly late due to Kevin's arduous attentions. He appreciated Kevin's efforts to go slow, despite physical evidence that he wanted to speed things up. Edd figured that Kevin knew that his experience with sex of any kind or with either gender was nonexistent and the effort he put in to keep things in Edd's comfort zone did not go unnoticed. In an effort to express his gratitude toward his roommate he tried to learn all of the ways Kevin enjoyed being touched, whether by lips or fingertips thus far. He had compiled an extensive list in his head and added to it on his way to class.

He turned in his history paper and took notes as best he could, but when the professor detailed the pilgrims' and early Americans' exploration of the "New World" his mind slipped back to the boy on his bed, his lips puffed and pink, and the feel of him stretched out next to him. The hair that trailed down Kevin's stomach and disappeared beneath the line of his belt was a "New World" Edd thought about exploring. He wasn't sure when, but he knew he wanted to.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Edd woke sweating and in pain. The pain had been growing in his abdomen over the past few days. He'd thought nothing of it for the first day or two, blaming the cafeteria food, but awakening in severe pain and sweating made him worry. He groaned and reached for a thermometer.

Kevin stirred when it beeped. "Edd? What's wrong?"

He looked at the thermometer grimly. He voice shook and sounded rough. "I don't mean to cause alarm but—I think I need to go to the hospital. Now." He bent over and groaned again.

Kevin was up and at his side immediately. "What's wrong?"

When the pain was bearable again, he said, "My stomach hurts a lot. And—and I think I'm going to be sick." He handed over the thermometer, still reading 101.2 degrees as another wave of pain washed over him, making him curl up on the bed and moan.

With gentle hands Kevin made Edd lay flat on his back and pressed on his abdomen lightly, determining where the pain came from. He set his mouth in a firm line when he found Edd couldn't take even the lightest touch on his lower right side. He reached for his phone and dialed campus security. "I think my roommate's appendix is going to burst, we need to go to the hospital." He waited while they agreed to meet the boys outside of the dorm building. He slipped on a pair of flip flops, grabbed a pair of shoes for Edd and two sweatshirts. "Come on Edd, we need to go downstairs. Then we'll get to the hospital."

Edd tried to stand but the pain made it nearly impossible to hold his weight and he stumbled at the door.

Kevin scooped the boy up and carried him down the hall as he moaned into his chest. He tried to make shushing noises and be comforting while the elevator slowly moved down to the first floor. He pressed his lips to the boy's forehead, confirming what the thermometer had already told him: he was burning up.

The campus police vehicle sat parked outside the building waiting for them. "You the kid with the sick roommate?" the officer said.

"No, I'm the kid who just killed his roommate. No shit he's sick, don't ya see him?"

The officer nodded and opened the back door for them. Kevin gently set Edd in the back seat, closed the door and went around to the other side to climb in. He let Edd curl back up in his lap as the officer pulled away from the curb and toward the hospital. He stroked the hair peeking out the side of his hat on the trip and kept making shushing noises. "Shhh…Edd, it's going to be okay. Don't worry. You're going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you. Shhh…you're okay. You're going to be just fine. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Edd reached for his hand and gripped it tightly.

* * *

Kevin waited for Edd to come out of surgery impatiently. He paced the floor and ran his hand through his hair so many times he was sure he'd start to bald. Edd's trademark hat hung loosely out of the pocket of his zip up. The first few hours had been filled with testing to confirm Kevin's guess of appendicitis and then prepping him for surgery. Edd had insisted Kevin remain with him, holding his hand until he'd been forced to leave when the anesthesiologist arrived. So he paced the floor until the doors opened and a doctor said that he could go in and see him.

They had asked about his parents, but Kevin had assured them Edd was over the legal age and they weren't available to come in, as Edd had mentioned they were out of the country the day before. Edd lay in his bed still sleeping. Kevin walked over and took his hand back. When the hour was decent he texted Wilhelmina to let her know the Edd was in the hospital but okay. She texted him back in a panic but after three reassurances that he would be fine and be leaving the next day, she calmed down and said she'd get a ride over later in the afternoon. He asked her to get a few things from their room if she were able and she agreed. He then typed out a few emails on his phone to explain to his professors and Edd's that they wouldn't be in class due to a medical emergency. He received one reply almost immediate from his Statistics professor saying that if he were not the one in the hospital he should come to class; he sighed loudly but stayed with Edd, who still slept.

When he finally woke, Kevin was half dazed with exhaustion but still held Edd's hand tightly. He'd slept a little, but found it hard to get comfortable in the chair next to Edd's bed. Edd looked at him with his eyes bright and smiled. "Thank you," he rasped.

Kevin pulled a cup of water off the table next to him and helped Edd take a drink. "What're you thanking me for?"

Edd shook his head. "Getting me here. Everything."

He smiled. "Of course, Dork. I wasn't about to let you die."

"But you didn't have to stay either. You could have gotten some sleep. Or gone to class. Really you should ha e gone to class."

Kevin thought Edd's brain must still be foggy, his vocabulary had diminished, but he wasn't going to mention it. "And leave you here all by yourself? No way. I wouldn't think of it. You're more important anyway." He took the hat out of his pocket and put it back on the nerd's head. "And cute too. What does class have to offer that I can't get here?" He leaned forward and brushed a kiss across Edd's lips.

A knock came from the door. "Hey," Wilhelmina walked in with a bag slung over her shoulder. "How're you feeling?"

"Better now. The incision still smarts but the pain is much more bearable. What do you have in that bag?"

"Kevin asked me to grab a few things from your room. Your RA let me in. I brought you some clothes and your laptop, and Kevin's laptop. And if you'll give me a few minutes I'm going to grab the three of us some food. Oh, Kevin I brought you a change of clothes too. And both of your toothbrushes. I wasn't sure if you needed them or not but I thought it couldn't hurt."

"Thanks, Willy."

She gave him a wry look at the nickname but left for food quickly. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Any requests?"

Kevin pointed at Edd. "He needs something healthy. Fruits, vegetables, or white meats. Light food. Doctors orders."

She nodded. "Can do. Back soon. Hey Kev, you might want to go to the bathroom, to clean up. Just a suggestion."

He nodded and turned to Edd. "You going to be okay for a second?"

"Of course. I need to email my professors anyway to let them know of my condition and when I can be back in class."

He smiled. "They already know about your surgery. I emailed them when you got out. I'll be right back." He took his toothbrush and a clean shirt out of the bag Wilhelmina had left and walked to the bathroom. When he rounded the corner out of the room, he saw Wilhelmina standing at the end of the hall. "Willy, you okay?"

She nodded. "I just—" She kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I heard that you carried him out of the room from your RA."

"Y-yeah, I guess so. I mean, what else was I going to do with him? He couldn't walk. And he was in so much pain."

"I know. And I know you've known him a lot longer than me, I just would have missed that kid if anything had happened. You could have texted me earlier if you had wanted."

He shook his head. "I didn't want to worry you."

"You could have used the company."

He smiled and nodded. "If anything like this ever happens again, I'll call you first."

"Thank you. I'm going to go get food now. Just, thanks again."

When Kevin returned to Edd's bedside, with clean teeth and a new shirt, Edd was typing furiously on his laptop. Kevin looked at the screen and saw a lab report. He took the back of the screen and slowly started to close the computer.

"Kevin, I must insist you desist whatever it is you're trying to do. I need to email this lab report to my professor by the end of next week and—"

"It can wait. You just had surgery. Please put the computer away."

A nurse bustled in to check Edd's charts and fluids. She smiled at Edd. "Your friend taking good care of you, sweet pea?"

He blushed. "Boyfriend. And he is."

Kevin took the opportunity to take away the computer and replaced it with his hand.

"Well good for you two." She said it in a tone that clearly meant she didn't think it was good at all but both of them ignored it. "Try not to get hot an' heavy for at least a week, preferably closer to ten days. We don't need you rushin' back here because your stitches burst."

Kevin glared at her as she left the room. "I wasn't planning on hot and heavy anytime soon," he mumbled.

Edd squeezed his hand. "Don't listen to her. I know you wouldn't do anything that could put us back here. You've been taking more notes about doctor's orders than I have."

Kevin smiled.

"Plus, I think I remember you saying you wouldn't let anything bad happen to me."

* * *

Edd was released the next day and Kevin and Wilhelmina were there to pick him up. Kevin had done everything he could to stay the night in the hospital with Edd. When the nurse had threatened to call security to get him to leave, Edd and Wilhelmina encouraged him to leave, saying he could come back first thing in the morning. It had been a long night alone in the dorm. Wilhelmina had offered to come over but he had declined her offer. He thought about inviting Jason over to watch the Manchester game but found he didn't really have the energy.

He walked over to Wilhelmina's room early the next morning so they could get back in as soon as visiting hours started. He knocked on the door and was greeted by the sight of the girl he'd taken home two weeks ago. She seemed to go red.

"Oh um—hi. I'm here for Wilhelmina?"

She nodded and opened the door. Kevin walked in while Wilhelmina pulled a shirt on. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Sorry, couldn't get myself out of bed this morning." She picked up her purse from the back of her desk chair. "How'd you sleep?"

"Not great." He glanced at the girl behind him. "You'd have thought I'd sleep better than I did."

"You were practically asleep on the ride back."

He shrugged. "Couldn't fall asleep once I got back to the room. Spent most of the night with the TV on and a bottle of Lysol in my hand."

"Alright. Well let's get going then. See you later, Elle!"

They walked out the door. Outside was quiet, few cars moving down the street. The air was crisp and chill with hints of fall clean on the air. Fog rolled across the quad, sticking to their skin and laying on their tongues. Birds could be heard calling to each other and in the distance the maintenance crew could be heard mowing the lawn somewhere. It seemed as if the entire campus were still sleeping.

"You'd think a bomb just dropped."

"Saturday mornings," he said with a shrug. "Can't say I'd normally be up quite this early."

"Yeah, I wouldn't either." They walked quietly toward the parking lot. "Sorry about—back in the room. It didn't occur to me that I should have warned either of you."

"Don't worry about it. Didn't bother me. As long as she doesn't—"

"She doesn't." She glanced at him quickly.

"It's not that I don't want people to know," he mumbled.

"I know." She chewed her lip. "I'm not judging either of you for keeping it to yourselves. That's your decision."

Edd was waiting for them, dressed and ready to go, when they arrived at the hospital. He still moved slowly, and the doctors repeated their instructions to ensure healing to both Edd and Kevin, Wilhelmina taking notes in the background. They insisted on wheeling him out to Wilhelmina's car and made him hold his abdomen with the flat of his hand when he stood, emphasizing how important it was to support the wound. Kevin sat next to Edd in the back seat, an arm slung around his shoulders. The drive back to campus took little time and getting Edd back to his room even less.

"Okay, I hate to say it guys, but I need to get to the studio, I have to work on a project. Will you be okay?"

Kevin nodded. "I'll let you know if we need anything."

"Okay." She kissed Edd on the cheek. "I'll see you soon. Get some rest. And try to make sure he does too, I don't think he slept at all since he got you to the hospital."

Edd shot a concerned look over to Kevin, who rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Thank you for everything."

She smiled at the thin boy. "Of course. I'll stop by later tonight."

When she left, Kevin picked Edd up and placed him on the raised bed, before climbing up next to him, careful of this stitches.

"Kevin, what're you doing?"

"I just want to be near you for a while." His voice was raspy and heavy with sleep. He pulled Edd so that his head lay on his chest. He took deep, steady breaths, comforted by the weight of Edd on his chest, the heat of his body against his own. "Is that okay?"

"Of course." Edd's lips pressed into his neck, hand lying lightly on his chest, tracing symbols into the skin.

They fell asleep that way, and Kevin slept deeply, for what felt like the first time in a week.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

September faded quietly into October and Edd's stitches healed in a timely manner. Kevin had kept him in bed and out of class for the full week the doctor had suggested, though he couldn't keep the boy from working on papers, lab reports, and other research while in bed. And despite his near endless protestations, Edd's grades did not suffer in the least from his time out of class.

One day in mid-October, Kevin came back from practice to find Edd studying at his desk, as usual, books spread across every nearby available surface. He walked over and draped his arms around the lean boy, looking at a computer screen filled with equations he didn't quite recognize. He pressed a kiss into the boy's temple.

"Kevin you are covered in sweat and I'm in the middle of my midterm lab report. Could you please go decontaminate yourself?"

"Sure thing, Dork," he said with a smile. The childhood moniker had taken on a softer, loving meaning. "I just wanted to ask you about something first. Well, not quite ask, just suggest."

Interest peaked Edd glanced over his shoulder at his now shirtless boyfriend. His eyes traced the lines of Kevin's hard muscles, still dewy with perspiration. "Yes?" he said, licking his lips.

Kevin gave him a few more moments to stare before asking. "Long weekend is next week. Somehow we weren't scheduled for a game and I guess coach has to go to a funeral or something. I was thinking about making a trip home. I mean, I know your parents probably won't be home, but I'll bet Ed, Nazz, and Rolf and maybe even Eddy will be."

Edd smiled at Kevin bringing up both their friends, despite his dislike for Edd's compatriots. "That could be quite enjoyable, but I don't have a car here at school…." he trailed off.

"No problem. I have my bike." He glanced back at Edd when he heard the measured intake of breath. "What? Don't give me that look. It's perfectly safe. I have an extra helmet and everything. I've never once been in an accident or even gotten a ticket. And I promise to go slow."

"Perhaps we should just stay here."

"Going home would be nice. Just promise to think about it?"

Edd nodded.

Satisfied for the time being, Kevin left for a shower and Edd returned to his report.

With a bit more gentle prodding over the next week, Kevin managed to convince Edd to let him drive them both home for the weekend. Kevin tried to drive slowly, but the freeway required he keep pace or he would get them both killed, and Edd's hands dug into his leather jacket the entire way home. When they finally pulled into the driveway of Edd's house, he thought that the boy was going to kiss the ground in joy. Instead he slumped against a tree for a moment. Kevin smiled and led the boy into the house. He hadn't been in Edd's house in years, but the layout was the same and he found the kitchen without incident. He brought a glass of water back for the boy who sat on the couch. Some color came back to his face and he smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry. I tried to go slowly."

Edd nodded. "I know. I just need a moment to collect myself."

He bit his lip. "Is there anything I can do?"

Edd snuggled into his chest. "You can pick out a film. We're going to have a date night, since you won't take me on one at school."

"Hey—"

Edd stuck out his tongue. "I'm not asking you to take me to dinner or out to a movie. Just pick out a film and put it in the player."

Kevin looked up, inspired. "I'll take you out to dinner."

"No no no, I was merely joking. Just pick a movie."

"No really. Let's go on a date. No one here gives a shit if we're together now."

Edd put his hand on Kevin's jaw and turned his head to his own. He pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before shaking his head. "If you still want to take me out tomorrow, we'll discuss it then. For now will you please just choose a film?"

Kevin nodded. It took him a few minutes but he finally managed to find a movie that wasn't a documentary or "based on a true story." He popped it in the DVD player and returned to the boy on the couch, who looked like he felt much better. Kevin lay down against the back of the couch, pulling Edd down in front of him to watch the movie. For the first half of the movie or so, they watched. Both of them had seen it several times. Kevin ran a hand lightly up and down Edd's hips and ribs, causing shivers to crawl up the boy's spine. When he grew bored of the movie, Kevin proceeded to nip at the back of Edd's neck and suckle hickeys into the soft tissue. Finally, Edd turned toward him and pressed his mouth to Kevin's. The rest of the movie was forgotten as they explored each other's mouths with tongue and lips and torso's with hands.

The phone rang, pulling Edd from the kiss.

Kevin groaned as the boy got up to answer the incessant ring.

"Hello? Oh yes hello, Mother. How are you and Father? No you didn't call my cell phone. This is the house; did you need me to write you a message?" The boy rummaged through a drawer, extracting a pack of post-it notes and a pen. "Yes, I've got it. What am I doing home? It's long weekend. I know I mentioned it to you when—oh right. Of course. Well enjoy yourselves. No no, I'm not alone. My roommate came with me. You remember Kevin, well he and I are kind of—oh, of course. Goodnight. I love you." He returned to the couch, looking dejected and sad.

Kevin pulled an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. He pressed his lips to Edd's temple. "Are you okay?" he murmured still at the boy's temple.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Would you like to put in another movie?"

* * *

Edd woke the next morning alone on the couch. He and Kevin had fallen asleep watching movies and kissing the night before. Confused, he wandered into the kitchen, to find Kevin at the stove, flipping pancakes. "What's going on?"

"Making breakfast," he said as he flipped another pancake. "I was going to wake you as soon as they were all done. Sit down. I set out some orange juice and the food is just about ready."

Edd followed instructions and sat at the table. "So, what are the plans for today?"

Kevin set a plate piled with food down in front of Edd, then sat down with one of his own in front of him. "Well, you're going to hang out with Ed and Eddy, since they've both texted you about my bike being in front of your house. Your phone is on the coffee table, by the way. I'm going to go see if Nazz or Rolf are around and plan our date."

Edd had been eating his breakfast, marveling at how good they were, but he set his fork down and looked at Kevin. "I was merely joking about the date. There is no need to out yourself."

"I want to take you out. I don't care if people know about us. I only don't want to say anything at school because of—"

"I know. But—"

"Please let me finish. The teams are the problem at school. But next year at the latest, we won't have to hide it. Even if I lose my scholarships, I promise."

Edd nodded. "Yes, dear."

Kevin smiled shyly at him. "Eat up and get to your friends. I'm sure they've missed you."

He rolled his eyes. "Ed might have, but Eddy and I had a falling out before I left. I'm sure he only wants to berate me more."

"Well, if that's the case, you can look forward to a romantic dinner tonight, okay?"

Edd smiled. "That sounds most pleasing."

Kevin left after breakfast with a kiss and promising to pick him up for their date later in the afternoon. Edd showered and texted Ed and Eddy to invite them over; he hoped that Eddy would be more pleasant than he had been. Ed knocked on the door almost immediately.

"Double D, are you home still?" He poked his head in the door.

Edd ushered the boy in. "Yes, Ed I'm home all weekend. It's good to see you again."

He had just set up Ed with some snacks and they were in the process of choosing a video to watch when the door flew open.

"Hey, Sockhead, why the hell was Kevin's bike in front of your house this morning?" he half shouted in his strained voice.

Edd glanced up at the boy who had been his friend for as long as he could remember. Their last argument echoed in his head, Eddy accusing him of thinking too highly of himself for leaving, Edd retorting that just because he had gotten into college did not mean that he felt he was better than anyone. "Well, Kevin's my…" he trailed off unsure of what to say.

Eddy's eyes locked on Edd's neck. "Did you get a hickey?"

Edd burned red.

"Who gave you a hickey? That Wilhelmina girl who's always writing on your wall?"

"Do you have a girlfriend, Double D?" Ed asked.

"No—no she and I are merely friends. The hickey is from—the hickey is from my boyfriend." The words hung in the air.

Eddy looked like he'd been slapped. "Boyfriend?" he sneered.

"Yes."

His lip curled. "What, so you're gay now?"

Edd paused. "I guess I am."

After several tense minutes he nodded. "Okay."

Ed looked up. He had hot fudge running down his chin. "Is Kevin your boyfriend?"

Edd sputtered. "I—what?"

"Is that why his motorcycle stayed outside your house all night?"

Eddy looked inspired. "He is, isn't he? You're _fucking_ Kevin. Oh this is too good. You go to college and somehow find the one guy we can't stand and end up fucking him. You find the one guy who has hated us since the start of time and you think, 'yeah, this is a good idea. Let's betray my friends back home and—'"

"Let's get one thing straight here. I'm not 'fucking' him as you so coarsely put it. We are in a relationship yes, he's my roommate, and he has never once made me feel as bad about my intelligence as you do on a daily basis. If you feel the need to do so, you're welcome to leave. I'm happy for the first time in a very long time and if you can't be happy for me than you should leave." He shook with barely suppressed rage, finally able to let out some of it after years of resentment.

Eddy raised his eyebrows. He looked like he was going to fight again but kept his mouth closed for a minute. "Okay. Sheesh. Get your panties in a twist why don't ya. We gunna watch a movie or not?"

Ed glanced between his two competing friends. He glanced down at the cases before pulling up a classic male comedy. "I picked it out. Put it in, Double D."

"I'm sure he hears that all the time," Eddy muttered.

Edd glared at Eddy but put the movie in and threw himself on the couch. Ed and Eddy joined him as the movie started, Ed pushing pop corn in his mouth. Edd ignored the snacks, still full from breakfast and generally against eating so much junk food in one sitting anyway. About halfway through the second movie, Eddy really looked at Edd who still felt awkward and angry, twisting the hem of his shirt in his fingers and scowling at the screen.

"You're really dating him?" he asked in a low voice; Ed was notorious for being angry when people talked through movies he wanted to see, and the zombie flick he had chosen next definitely counted toward that list.

Edd nodded. "Yes, I'm really dating him."

He nodded and looked back at the screen. "How'd that happen?"

Edd could tell he was trying to sound off hand, but the idea of he and Kevin dating had Eddy upset. He shook his head, fairly certain the boy was watching him out the corner of his eye. "I'm not really sure to be honest. I didn't think I was even really…interested in anyone until school started. I tried to be with girls, well a girl. It…it didn't feel right."

"Could have just been the wrong girl."

He shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"How can you be sure?"

He sighed and finally looked at him. "I've never had feelings for anyone else. Ever."

"Will you guys shut up? I'm trying to watch the movie," Ed interrupted.

They continued in silence. Edd got a text from Kevin at three. "Wear something nice. I'll be there at five sharp." He smiled and put the phone away.

When the third movie ended, Edd started clearing away the empty snack bowls. He winced as he turned in the kitchen.

"You hurt?" Eddy said, carrying in glasses and empty chip bags.

It occurred to Edd how much his friends had eaten throughout the afternoon. He himself had only had a bit of hummus and some vegetables, still careful of what he ate, even weeks after his surgery. He smiled. "I'm fine. I had to have my appendix out about a month ago. The incision can still be bothersome if I move incorrectly."

"You had surgery?"

"Well yes."

"What happened?"

"I woke in the middle of the night in pain. Kevin called campus security, then carried me down to the car. We went to the hospital and I had surgery."

Eddy looked shocked. "He _carried_ you?"

Edd bit his lip as he washed dishes in the sink. "Well yes. I couldn't carry myself. He stayed by me the entire time."

"Oh" was all he could manage. "So is he coming back over tonight?"

Edd shrugged. "He's planning something for tonight, some sort of date, I suppose you could say. Our first. But I don't know any other information about it."

"Edd is going on a date?" Ed walked in the kitchen.

"Yes. I believe I am."

"With Kevin?"

"Yes, Ed."

He looked pensive for a moment and nodded. "Just be careful not to break your naughty."

* * *

Kevin spent the morning with Nazz and Rolf. Nazz had been shocked by the revelation of Kevin's sexuality, but came around quickly. They caught up while Nazz let the two boys tune up her car. She had gone to a state university nearby and was home visiting for the weekend. She had a football player boyfriend already at school. Kevin suspected that he wouldn't last long. Her boyfriends never did; she moved through them quickly, though she was never cruel when breaking up with them.

"So wait. You only like guys now?" Nazz asked immediately after Kevin admitted that he and Edd were dating. Apparently everyone in the cul de sac had noticed his bike had spent the night outside of Edd's house.

"Well…I've only ever liked guys," he confessed. He was glad to be under the car, changing her oil so she couldn't see how red his face was.

"So when we dated in high school?"

He peeked his head out. "Sorry."

"And when we—"

"Again, sorry. It's nothing about you…I'm just—not into girls."

She seemed to accept it, though her astonishment was apparent. He couldn't blame her. She was the first girl he actually slept with and really his first relationship. His high school reputation as a stud had started with her, and she knew that as well. They remained friends, rarely discussing the fleeting few months they had been together.

Rolf said that he had always suspected that Kevin was more interested in the bull than the cow. He still worked with his father. He seemed to be enjoying the work still, talking about the new calf they had just birthed. Kevin wondered if he dated, but decided not to ask.

He decided a slight subject change was in order after listening to Rolf tell how the calf was born, the imagery alone was enough to make him gag. "I'm taking him out tonight," Kevin said as he wiped grease from his hands on a rag.

"Oh yeah?" Nazz asked.

"Where are you taking the Edd boy?"

He shrugged. "I don't know yet."

Nazz looked up from filing her short nails and smiled. "You should take him to that new place. I've heard they're really nice. And the music selection is awesome from what my friend said. Real classy during normal dinner hours but then it gets all alternative and cool during hours when people go for drinks. Sometimes they even have live music."

He mused on it. "Maybe. I'm not sure that's really a place Edd would like. You know how he is."

She grinned, small white teeth like pearls. "Actually, we didn't interact much. Not that he's not a cool guy. But we were just in different circles in high school, if you remember."

He conceded, "True. But you can guess. I mean, you knew him when we were kids. He's not too different now, really."

"There is always the museum restaurant. It is a bit far but your Edd boy would probably enjoy it greatly," Rolf chimed in. He held a wrench in his hand, covered in grease, though Kevin couldn't actually remember if he'd done anything to the car. They'd fixed up cars before, but today Rolf seemed more hands off.

Kevin smiled, imagining Edd marveling at the different exhibits and then being seated to overlook the sculpture garden. He could see the dork's face lighting up in front of modern art exhibits, blushing at any nudes. He could practically feel him shaking in excitement next to him. He couldn't guess why he thought Edd would enjoy an art museum so much, only that he had the feeling he would. "Do you think I could get reservations?"

"Only one way to find out," Nazz said, dialing on her cell phone and handing it over to him.

After confirming a reservation for two at eight o'clock, Kevin sent Edd a text that he would pick him up at five o'clock sharp.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Kevin watched the seconds tick away; 4:59:55, 4:59:56, 4:59:57, 4:59:58, 4:59:59. He knocked on Edd's door. While he waited, he pulled at the collar of his shirt; Nazz had convinced him that a collared button up would be more appropriate for the museum than a t-shirt. She hadn't been able to convince him not to wear his leather jacket though.

"Kevin, it's a nice place!"

"I have to ride my bike there. I'm wearing the jacket."

Edd opened the door. He looked adorable in a sweater with a button down and tie beneath it. He seemed to blush and it occurred to Kevin that Edd had never been on a date before. He stepped forward and offered his hand and a kiss. "This way, Dork," he said in a low voice.

Edd took his hand and followed closely behind. "Where we going?"

With a smile over his shoulder, Kevin said, "That's a surprise. We'll need to take the bike, but only for a little while. Is that okay?"

Edd nodded and when he realized Kevin wasn't looking at him he gave a quiet, "okay."

Kevin rode with Edd holding closely to his back. The ride took no more than ten minutes, but he almost wished it was longer because Edd held him so closely. He parked and felt Edd let go.

"The train station?"

Kevin led him to the correct platform, having bought the tickets earlier in the day. "I thought you'd rather not ride into the city on my bike. The train seemed like a better idea."

When it pulled up a good number of commuters got off, leaving the car they entered nearly empty. The ride took less time than Kevin expected and they arrived in the city by six-thirty. On the way down he tried to distract Edd from the likeliness of the seats being unsanitary by asking him to explain his senior thesis in detail. Edd lit up as he divulged the information and to his surprise, Kevin actually found it rather interesting. It kept Edd busy throughout the entirety of the ride and even a little ways as they walked down the city streets toward the museum.

When Kevin turned toward the large building Edd stopped and stared.

"A museum?" he asked, skeptically.

Kevin's heart sank. "I—I thought you might like it. We've got a little over an hour to wander around and then I made reservations for dinner in the restaurant. I even found out they're having a photography exhibit of close ups on insects and the patterns of like their wings and stuff."

Edd's smile lit up his face and he practically dragged Kevin forward in a kiss. "It's wonderful. How did you ever think of it?"

He admitted that he'd tossed some ideas around with Nazz and Rolf before settling on this one. "You really like it? Because we could go somewhere else if you'd rather."

Edd shook his head. "No. I love it. It's the perfect idea for a first date. Let's go in, please?" He grabbed Kevin's hands and pulled him to the building.

Kevin watched Edd more than the exhibits, finding the boy's reactions and delight far more interesting to look at than the photographs. Edd explained as much as he knew about each insect they looked at. He accounted how each pattern and design helped each species survive or worked to their benefit. His enthusiasm for the exhibit made Kevin's heart race and he had to suppress the urge to press the boy against the wall and kiss his way down his neck. He watched as Edd's eyes traced the lines and colors through each portrait, a gaze similar to the one he often caught in Edd's eyes as he admired his own body.

At ten of eight he begrudgingly pulled Edd away and in the direction of the restaurant. They were seated promptly and Edd stared around in wonder. Kevin had been to the museum with his mother as a child, so he knew the restaurant and permanent exhibits. The sculpture garden lay illuminated under spotlights and the city lights lay behind that. Overall the view was as fantastic as he remembered, captivating Edd's attention immediately. The waiter took drink orders and left them be.

"Have you ever been before?" Kevin asked.

Edd shook his head. "No. I passed it once or twice on school trips but I've never been in. Have you?"

"Yeah. My mom took me a lot when I was a kid. She said she wanted to expand my mind with art or something."

"That sounds like a good idea." Edd chewed idly on a breadstick.

The waiter returned with their drinks. She rattled off the specials for the evening, gushing about how good the lobster ravioli was her favorite thing on the menu and it the best day of the month when they added it to the specials list. Kevin rolled his eyes at her while she spoke to Edd but tried to remain polite. She took their dinner orders and returned to the kitchen. Edd asked about Kevin's favorite exhibit in the museum and they spoke in low voices. The food was better than Kevin remembered and Edd actually moaned aloud, quietly, after his first bite. The sound of it sent hot rivulets down his spine.

After Kevin had paid the bill, much to Edd's protestations that they could at least split it, they left the museum. The exhibits had closed at nine. They walked the city for a while, wandering without direction or motivation to find any. Finally, as it neared eleven o'clock, they boarded the train home.

* * *

Edd held tightly to Kevin on the ride back to the cul-de-sac. The cold October air whipped at their faces, biting the skin. He only reopened his eyes when the bike came to a complete stop and Kevin said, "We're back, Dork. You can let go now."

"Maybe I don't want to," he murmured as he straightened and let go of the boy. He looked at the house in front of them: Kevin's house. As he dismounted the bike he started to walk in the direction of the street and his own house across it, hoping Kevin would follow but unsure. The streetlight on the corner glowed orange-yellow in the distance, mimicking the leaves that clung to the last vestiges of summer in the yard, refusing to fall and admit defeat after another year.

"Where are you going?" Kevin asked, taking a couple steps toward him.

Edd returned to him with a kiss. "I assumed it was the time of night that I should be going home. I had a wonderful time."

"Oh. I was going to ask if you'd like to come in?"

Edd chewed his lip.

"Dad's out of town. No need for us both to stay in empty houses."

Edd thought of going home to the large house, empty yet again. He admitted to himself that he didn't relish the idea. Then he thought of staying with Kevin, a warm body nearby, perhaps some laughs and goodnight kisses. And he could always go home later, if he really wanted to. There was no need to end the night just because they'd returned to Peach Creek. The choice was obvious. He nodded with a smile. "Alright then."

Kevin led him in. He looked nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Is everything alright, Kevin?"

"I—the best stuff for movies or whatever is upstairs. I didn't really think about it til we got inside."

"Okay. Well, would you want to go up? Or would you rather stay in the living room?" Edd wondered if Kevin was embarrassed of his bedroom or just didn't want Edd in there.

He continued to pull at the back of his neck with his palm. "I wouldn't mind going up but it seemed presumptive to invite you to my bedroom on a first date," he mumbled.

Edd rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. We live together at school. Nothing about this is traditional. And it's not exactly like I've never seen your dirty underwear before."

Kevin coughed out a laugh. "Okay okay. Follow me then, your dorkiness."

As Edd walked up the steps behind Kevin he couldn't help but wonder if it were actually a good idea now. Rationally he knew that it was no different than being at school with Kevin. But part of him knew emotionally that this was different. He couldn't at the moment say why it was different, only that he felt the same nervousness that Kevin felt.

Kevin turned down the hall and led him to a door at the very end. Edd walked in slowly and looked around. His bed stood toward the center of the room, queen sized and clean. In front of the bed on the opposite wall sat a small entertainment center, with a TV, gaming system, and a stack of movies and games. A small bookshelf stood near the closet door, and a desk sat under the window. Posters of athletes and movies hung on the walls. And on a shelf perched above the bed were a few trophies and awards from his various athletic endeavors, and his high school diploma.

Kevin cleared his throat a little. "Did you um want to watch a movie?"

"Alright."

He nodded then went to a dresser. He pulled out a couple pair of shorts and tossed one to Edd. "If you, you know, didn't want to stay in your nicer clothes. They might be a bit big but you don't have anything over here. I mean, you could go get something from your house if you want, but they'll probably work out alright. I'm going to go change, I'll be right back."

Edd decided to change as well, stripping down to his boxers and undershirt before pulling the shorts up his hips. They were a bit big but not too bad. Kevin walked back in the room, wearing only shorts and a pair of boxers peaking out the top. He popped a movie, Edd didn't see which, into the gaming system, took the remote, and went back to the bed. Edd sat at the edge, unsure what was considered proper behavior.

Kevin sat leaned against his pillows, looking comfortable and more relaxed than Edd felt.

"You can sit up here, you know." His voice bespoke his own uncertain nerves.

Edd nodded and crawled up the bed to sit next to his boyfriend. He internally berated himself for being so unsure when he had been in the same bed as Kevin before, hell he'd seen him in most states of undress—dorms offering little in the way of privacy. But another equally logical part of side of his mind said that this was not a shared living space; Kevin had no siblings and this place in particular was all his. And personal, private living spaces were very different than shared dorm rooms. The room itself bore a testament of intimacy to its inhabitant.

"I uh know this is the part where I'm supposed to be all romantic or put on the moves or whatever, but to be honest, I don't want to push things. Just so you know—I—uh—shit, I'm terrible at this. Just—" he looked incredibly flustered. "Shit. If I do something stupid or go too far or whatever, whenever not even just tonight, just stop me. I promise I'll listen."

Edd nodded. He wanted to tell Kevin not to worry, that he trusted him and that he'd known he could tell him to stop at any point, but he wasn't sure the words mattered. Instead he leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to Kevin's lips and settled into the crook of his arms to watch the movie. Kevin held him without making any moves, other than to run his hands up Edd's ribs a few times, sending goose bumps shooting across his skin. When the movie ended Kevin shut the game system off and settled into bed. Edd started to sit up.

"What're you doing?" Kevin mumbled, sleep sounding heavy in his voice.

"It's late—I should go."

He sat up quickly, though still tired the concern in his eyes seems to be overtaking. "No. Why?"

Edd didn't have a real reason, so instead he responded with, "Stay the night on our first date? What would the neighbors think?"

"Fuck what the neighbors think. Stay here."

He shook his head, trying to clear it. Kevin misinterpreted the head shake and pulled him onto the bed, half on top of him face inches from his own. Edd moved his head forward, capturing the boy's lips with his own. When he pulled away he smiled and said, "I suppose I could."

Kevin grinned and ground his hips down on the boy beneath him before seizing his mouth with his own again. Edd groaned low in his throat, almost a growl, as he kissed Kevin back. He bit Kevin's lower lip to elicit the same growl in return. Kevin slid himself against Edd, moving his mouth to take Edd's earlobe between his teeth, causing a gasp to escape his mouth. He repeated the action, sliding his body along Edd's, and Edd repeated his own response with a moan. "K-kevin—I—I—"

He moved down the boy's neck. "Yes?"

"I—oh my—st-stop—"

He pulled back sharply and tumbled off Edd, onto his back. "S-sorry." He rolled to his side and pulled Edd against him gently.

Edd shook his head. "Don't be sorry."

He nuzzled the back of Edd's neck. "But I am." He squeezed the boy with his arms around him.

"Kevin, do your parents know about your predilection for the male sex?" Edd asked slowly.

He was quiet for a while and Edd wondered if he'd fallen asleep. Finally, quietly he said, "You mean do they know I'm gay?"

Edd nodded.

"No. Mom left us a few years back, before I'd really been in to anyone. And my dad would have a heart attack. That is if he could take an interest long enough to find out."

Edd looked around the room thinking that Kevin's father obviously cared more than Kevin gave him credit for. "Your mother left you?"

He felt Kevin sigh against his neck. "Yeah. When I was twelve. But she checked out three years before that."

He stayed quiet.

"She cheated on Dad. And for a while they tried to make it work. But she didn't really give a shit in the end. By the time I was ten she had moved into the spare bedroom next to mine. When I was eleven she and Dad didn't even talk anymore. And then when I was twelve I woke up one morning and she was gone. Left a note that just said, 'I tried.' As far as I know she left us for that guy. One of those guys. Doesn't really matter who she left us for I guess."

"I'm sorry."

"S'okay. Happened a long time ago."

_Six years_, Edd thought to himself. It wasn't that long ago, not really. Wounds still fresh. Edd didn't say any of it. He let Kevin hold him and eventually fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Kevin awoke pressed against Double D's back. He ran a hand down the boy's stomach and nipped at his shoulder playfully. Edd groaned a little and pressed himself farther back into Kevin. He suspected Edd could feel exactly what Kevin was interested in that morning based on their closeness and the way he pressed firmly into the boy's back and ass. He bit down on Edd's shoulder, eliciting a hiss of pleasure, then pressed his lips on the bite. He proceeded in the same fashion up his shoulder and neck before teasing his earlobe with a bite and suckle. His plans for the day were much more relaxed than the previous.

Edd turned over and retaliated by kissing him back, pressing his groin against Kevin's. He grabbed hungrily at his shoulder. He worked his tongue against Kevin's mouth and neck, moving his hand down Kevin's back as he did so, hauling his body forward against his own. Desire shot through Kevin, hot and fast. He pulled Edd's t-shirt off and pressed his back firmly into the mattress. He kissed him, slipping his tongue around the gap in his teeth, relishing the sharp edges and the slick surface. He trailed kisses down his neck and suckled a hickey on his collar bone.

Kevin heard the front door open. He pulled back from the boy beneath him, listening hard. Edd's eyes were wide and both were panting, hearts beating loudly.

A voice called up the stairs. "Kev? Why didn't you tell me you'd be home?" Footsteps coming down the hall. Kevin's eyes widened too. "I'd have left Detroit a day early so we could have caught a game or something." He dreaded the next moment but there was nothing he could do to stop it. He pushed himself off Edd, who was shaking beneath him.

The door opened.

"Shit, Dad! Knock!" He pulled the blanket back over himself and Edd, despite knowing they'd been seen.

"I—oh my God, Kevin, what the fuck is going on?"

A list of possible responses ran through his head, each worse than the last. "I—umm—meet my boyfriend, Dad."

His father glanced from boy to boy, confusion written plainly on his face, color draining. "I don't understand."

Kevin cleared his throat a little to give himself time to think. "What…don't you understand?" he asked slowly.

"I thought you liked girls?"

He shook his head. "Afraid not."

"So the girls in high school? The parade of hussies you had coming through here?"

He coughed in embarrassment; he thought he'd been a little more discrete than that. "Um. Yeah. I may have tried to force it for a while. And it wasn't a _parade_," he added as an afterthought.

"There were quite a few," Edd murmured. Great, now he was getting it from both sides.

"You tried to force it?" His father's face fell from confusion to disappointment.

He nodded.

"Why?"

"I—well I knew what an athlete is supposed to be. Wanted to fit the mold. And I—uh—didn't want to let you down anymore than you had been."

His father ran a hand through his hair. "Okay."

"Sorry."

He sighed. "What're you sorry for, Kev?"

"That I couldn't—that I don't—"

"I don't care if you're gay, kid. I care that you tried to force it for me rather than just tell me the truth. Are you happier now?"

Kevin looked at Edd sitting next to him in the bed, hair mussed and a pillow crease still marring his cheek. He took his hand. "Yes."

"Okay then. Get dressed. I'll make some breakfast." He left the room and closed the door.

"Sorry about that," Kevin murmured. "I didn't think he'd be home this weekend. He made it sound like the trip he was on would take a while."

Edd leaned over and kissed him chastely, and despite his forced outing the kiss reawakened the hot desires that had been running through his blood moments before. Kevin kissed him hard, pushing him back into the pillows. Edd pushed him away just a little and whispered, "What about your father?"

"What about him? He can wait a few minutes."

Edd shot him a look that he was coming to realize meant he was being ridiculous.

With a grin and a long kiss meant to get Edd's blood pumping, Kevin rolled off him and started to dress.

When they emerged downstairs, together at Kevin's insistence, his father had set out plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browns. The boys sat at the table, still nervous. Kevin picked at his food slowly, while Double D ate at a steady pace, almost too measured.

"Is something wrong with the food, guys?"

Kevin shook his head.

"No, it's superb," Edd responded quietly.

He sighed again. "Kev, you can stop acting so guilty. We're fine."

He nodded. He didn't know what to say or how to act with the revelation hanging in the air between them. And a part of him knew that his father might say they were fine, but something had been irrevocably changed, almost like the morning his mother left. But it was different, hard to put into words. It didn't feel like it could be reversed or they could go back to the way it was, he was too old to think that, but it felt like they might be able to move forward, unlike the stagnant unspeakable feeling surrounding her departure.

"Did you have plans for the day?" his father asked again.

"Not really. We need to head back to school tonight, but I—uh—didn't have any specific plans. Did you Edd?"

Edd shook his head. "No, no plans."

His father nodded. "Okay. Well I was going to suggest we do something together, but I'm getting the distinct feeling that maybe you'd rather head back to school early than hang out here."

Kevin blushed self-consciously. He shrugged and continued to pick at his food.

Edd eyed him momentarily. "I do have a lab that I ought to be working on. I mean, it is mostly done but there are always revisions that can be made. I could do it tonight when we get back though—"

"No, no, I won't keep you boys." Kevin got the feeling that his father needed time to digest the information as much as he did.

They packed up what they had brought home, very little but enough to bring back, with stolen kisses at Edd's house where things were still stored from their first night. Kevin slipped on his leather jacket and found an old one, slightly too small in the shoulder for him now but a perfect fit for Edd. His father stood by the bike as first Kevin, then Edd climbed aboard.

"I still wish you wouldn't ride this thing."

Kevin shrugged. "I like it. And I drive safely. Double Dork wouldn't have it any other way." He pulled on his helmet as Edd nodded behind him.

"Double…Dork…?" He shook his head. "Next time I'm in the area, mind if I stop by?"

"I guess not."

He nodded. "Alright. I'll see you soon, I guess. Edd, it was nice to see you again."

"It was a pleasure."

"Your parents are out of town a lot, right?"

"Yes, sir."

He nodded again. "If you ever need somewhere to stay, for holidays or weekends or whenever, you're welcome here."

A smile broke out on Kevin's face.

"Thank you, sir," Edd stammered out.

Kevin revved the motorcycle, waved goodbye to his dad, and pulled out of the driveway. Edd's arms immediately encircled his waist. He felt sure Double D was getting used to the bike, he didn't squeeze as hard and he could go more than 30 miles an hour without the squeaks of terror behind him, but he let the dork pretend that he still wasn't sure about it so that he could hold him closer. During the ride home, he was very aware of the way Edd's groin pressed against him and that the vibrations of the bike and thrill of the ride seemed to have excited him as much as it had Kevin.

They arrived back at school two hours later at just after one. Back in their room Kevin pulled Edd against him. Their mouths didn't touch but they were nose to nose, hip to hip, breathing heavily. Edd moved first, pushing his mouth against Kevin's. "I thought you had a lab report?" Kevin asked.

Edd shook his head, "It can wait."

Kevin pulled back enough to look him in the eye with a skeptical look in his eye. "Really?"

Edd ran his tongue over his bottom lip. "You seemed uncomfortable with the idea of spending the day with your father, so I may have stretched the truth a bit. It isn't due for another week. But it is almost done."

He felt his lips pull back in a smile. "Thank you."

Edd pulled his head closer to him again with a smirk. "If you truly mean your gratitude, please demonstrate it."

Kevin didn't need a second invitation. He kissed Edd hard and pulled his hips even closer. Edd groaned into his mouth and groped at his back seemingly trying to pull Kevin closer. But there were few ways that they could be any nearer. Edd pressed Kevin backward, on to the bed behind him and climbed atop, taking control of the kiss. Despite asking to be shown, Edd seemed to want to do the showing. He shed his own jacket, then pulled Kevin's off as well. Kevin let him lead. He found the demanding pull of his mouth and the force with which he pursued his desire to be incredibly sexy. Their shirts quickly found their way to the floor, abandoned without folding or hanging. Edd pressed his groin against Kevin's, sending shivers of longing down his gut to pool behind a quickly forming erection. He scraped his teeth down Kevin's neck, his hot breath igniting trails of fire. He continued his path, kissing and biting down Kevin's chest, hands following mouth, learning the intimate details of his body.

When he reached Kevin's pant line and the straining tent at his groin, Edd looked up. Kevin could see the desire in his eyes, but there was a definite fear there too. Kevin reached under his chin and pulled him back up to his mouth. He kissed him and ran fingers down Edd's chest and back. Edd gasped out, "I want to—" but couldn't finish the sentence.

"You want to what?"

Edd timidly reached forward and palmed Kevin through his jeans.

A spike of heat rushed up Kevin's spine, flushing his cheeks. "Are you sure?"

Edd took a shaky breath and reached for the zipper but didn't seem to be able to pull it down. Finally he shook his head.

Kevin had an idea. "Wanna try something else instead?"

Edd looked curious.

Kevin didn't want to explain, explaining it seemed to be the least sexy thing he could do at the moment. Instead he shucked his jeans, leaving his boxers in place. He reached for Edd's, afraid of rejection but terrified of pushing things too far. As he gripped the waistband, he asked again if Edd was okay with it. This time Edd nodded and Kevin pulled down the jeans, again leaving boxers in place. He slowly crawled back up the boy, kissing his stomach, chest, neck, jaw line, finally capturing his mouth with his own. Edd squirmed beneath him, breath ragged and body flushed. The uncertainty he had displayed moments ago seemed replaced once again by need. Kevin felt Edd raise his hips against his own. He pushed back against him, pressing his buttocks firmly into the mattress beneath them. The contact made his longing worse; pressed against each other, length to length, creating a friction he had only imagined in dreams. A long gasp escaped his lips and Edd devoured it with fervor, kissing him passionately. Kevin rutted against him, feeling Edd press back with every thrust of his hips.

Kevin had never been one for dry humping, preferring to get right to it, but he enjoyed this. His breath came quickly, heart beating like he'd run a mile, and his groin ached with delicious yearning. Edd moved against him and he felt the familiar boil in his gut as he came closer and closer to the edge. Edd seemed to be losing his carefully placed self-control as well. Small whines and gasps came out his mouth with every move, nails dug into Kevin's shoulder, and kisses became sloppier.

"K—K—Kevin—" Edd jolted a little with a sharp thrust and his eyes seemed to glaze.

Kevin felt the moisture sink through his own boxers. It pushed him over the edge, eyes spotting and body tingling. He kissed Edd hard as he came, mashing his lips hard against the other's, and collapsed on top of him, barely keeping his weight distributed so as not to crush his boyfriend.

Kevin carefully rolled onto his side next to Edd and pressed his lips to his temple. "Was that okay?"

Edd stared at the ceiling. "That was…" he trailed off. "Most excellent." A smile spread across his face, satisfied.

Kevin stood slowly and went to the dresser. He pulled out a new pair of shorts and changed out of his soiled underwear. He heard movement behind him and assumed Edd did the same. He then crawled back into bed and pulled Edd down next to him, lips pressed against his neck.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"What're your plans for this weekend?" Wilhelmina said as she sat down for lecture.

Edd looked at her curiously. "I don't have any. Why?"

She smiled. "I thought you and you know who might like to go to a party. You know, Halloween?"

"We're not going out in public together yet. People still can't know."

She nodded with a smile. "I know but hear me out. _Halloween_," she said the word slowly. "Costumes. And a party with the artists, who won't even know who either of you are, is a perfect idea. And if you're really that worried about it, I'll do your make up, both of you, so that neither of your mothers would even recognize you."

"They might not even if you didn't," Edd murmured to himself. He cleared his throat and sat up a little bit. "Alright, I'll ask. After class if you really want. We usually get lunch anyway."

She smiled brightly. "Good. I'll come with you. My studio time was moved today because of that stupid presentation in the art building."

After what felt like an exceedingly short lecture, Edd and Wilhelmina walked back to the dorm. They sat on Edd's bed, waiting for Kevin to return. Edd hadn't slept in his own bed since he and Kevin had returned from Peach Creek, but he didn't say anything. The bed was always neatly made, comfortable and clean, but it hadn't been slept in. Wilhelmina pulled out her phone, tapping at apps and links while she talked.

Kevin walked in the room, dropped his bag and turned to Edd's desk. When his eyes landed on Wilhelmina, the look of disappointment was hard to disguise. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Wilhelmina smirked. "I wanted to invite you both to a party this weekend. For Halloween."

Kevin looked nervous. "I don't know…"

"Dear god you two are similar. It's a Halloween party. Costumes and make up. And it's with a bunch of artists who don't give two shits about the sports at this school. So they'll have no idea who you are. And they won't care whether you like boys, girls, or goats."

Edd raised his eyebrows at her.

"Alright they'd care about goats, but seriously, they won't even know who you are or if you're gay. And even if they did, they're gossips but no one listens to them. They know everything on this campus but no one bothers to pay attention. They probably actually guessed already. Or could guess if they cared."

"Still I don't know about going to a party as a couple—"

"I promised Edd already, I'll make sure that neither of you are recognizable. Please come?"

Kevin glanced at Edd. He shrugged to his boyfriend. Kevin nodded. "Alright. But unrecognizable. Even you wouldn't recognize us."

She squealed and hugged him. "I promise. I'll get some prosthetics going for costumes and no one will ever know. Okay, now I don't know about you but I'm starving. Time for lunch?"

"Prosthetics?" Kevin asked, confusion plain in his voice. Edd didn't blame him, he couldn't imagine what she meant either.

"You know…false noses? Bigger ears or fake facial hair? My friend in the theater department makes them. With a bit of persuasion on my part, you'll be entirely new men." She put a hand on each of them and steered them out the door. "The real question is what you want to go as. I'm partial to gore, but that's just me."

"What's the theme?" Kevin asked.

"No theme for this one. Surprising but I guess they decided not to deal with the hassle this year."

Edd thought on ideas while he selected his lunch. Back at the table they debated back and forth while they ate. Kevin didn't want anything too nerdy, Edd didn't want anything too gruesome, and they both rejected all of Wilhelmina's suggestions that had one or both of them going in drag. "It would be so much fun," she argued to no avail. Finally they settled on a slightly stereotypic plan of Batman and Robin. Wilhelmina immediately pulled out a sketch pad and began to draw costume ideas.

"Wilhelmina, what about me has ever suggested that I would be comfortable in a midriff bearing shirt?" Edd asked dryly. "Or short shorts?"

Kevin leaned over to growl in his ear, "I don't know. I think it'd be kind of sexy."

Edd felt the blood rise in his cheeks and shook his head. "Absolutely not. Not in public anyway."

Wilhelmina looked up from the drawing with an eyebrow cocked, having missed Kevin's whisper. She grinned but drew over the risqué costuming with longer pants and a fully covered shirt. The design for Kevin's Batman costume seemed much more detailed, but she explained that since it was his reputation they were most concerned with protecting, his costume should naturally invite the eye to explore everything but his face. By the end of lunch she had their costumes planned and an idea on how to make them cheaply. She picked up her things and left with a promise of amazing costumes.

As Kevin and Edd walked back to their room, Kevin asked if Edd wanted to work on his swim lessons. Edd agreed and they found themselves back in the pool. He was getting better. He no longer feared the deeper water as he could float and tread now. They were working on a free style stroke, as Kevin called it. He still had trouble coordinating the movements, but he was getting more graceful in the water. The most difficult part, they found, was focusing on the lesson. The nearness of the other, compounded with their swim attire, made the entire endeavor rather difficult. Kevin's hands, correcting strokes or balancing him unnecessarily while he floated, caused heat to shoot through his body. It took a constant conscious effort to control the effects, though he occasionally noticed Kevin seemed to have the same problem.

"Okay, let's just try floating again."

Double D rolled his eyes. "You just want an excuse to touch me again." He flipped onto his back to do as Kevin suggested anyway.

"So what if I do?" Kevin immediately placed his hands under Edd's back, thumbs rubbing the muscles around his spine. Edd ached for them to inch lower.

"Double Dork," Kevin murmured to him after about forty-five minutes of the teasing game their lessons had become.

"Yes, Kevin?" he hissed through his teeth.

"What do you say we get out of here before I press you against the wall of the pool and have my way with you?"

Edd smirked. "Alright then."

When they arrived back in their room, Kevin pulled Edd against him. He was late to history class again.

* * *

Wilhelmina adjusted Kevin's costume and stepped back. He wore a full length body suit, lined perfectly with padding to look like the musculature he needed. Slung low on his hips hung a neutral "utility" belt with a pocket for his phone and other accoutrements. She had stuck on a fake grappling hook, a couple of foam bat-shaped cut outs that he supposed were similar to ninja stars, and a set of impressively durable handcuffs that Kevin wondered how long he could keep.

"Do you have boots you wear when you ride your bike?"

"What? Like these?" He pulled a pair of tall boots from under the bed.

"Put them on."

He pulled the boots on, zipping them up his calves.

She attached a cape to the back of his shoulders and stepped back to view her handy work. "What do you think, Edd?"

He looked up from his desk to survey his boyfriend. "Boxer-briefs would be better suited to the lycra material. Or something that will bunch less than his current choice of undergarment would do as well. But otherwise you did an exceptional job creating the costume and its desired effect. What about a mask though?"

"You would notice his underwear first; the one thing I didn't make on this entire ensemble. But thanks for reminding me about the mask." She reached into her bag and pulled out a silver mask that appeared to be made of duct tape. "I need to go over it in black, but try it on for size. I wanted to make sure it was big enough first. And I just have to finish with the armor aspect on the suit and it'll be all set."

Kevin slipped it on. It fit fairly well throughout, and was left open at his chin and jaw line, where he had been worried that it would be too tight or uncomfortable. The eyes were a bit low but Wilhelmina adjusted them quickly.

Edd nodded. "That's very nice. You must have spent hours working on this."

She shrugged. "My midterms are done so I didn't have much else to be doing."

That was a lie and they all knew it but he ignored it. She had been having troubles with a boy she'd been seeing and needed the distraction he suspected.

"Your turn, Edd." She pulled out a similar lycra body suit and he began to protest but the withering look she gave in return had him trying the costume on quickly enough, while Kevin slipped back into normal clothes. When he turned around to look at Edd being fitted he was surprised how dark the costuming was. Wilhelmina noticed him looking. "Is it bad?" she asked and bit her lip.

"No. The coloring just isn't what I expected."

She smiled. "Oh I figured that the Dark Knight era was a bit more relevant than the original, and I wanted you two to match. Plus the bright colors were a bit more ummm…well gay than I thought either of you would be comfortable with." She fit the cape around his shoulders and made a mark in chalk around the abdominals.

Edd looked at the suit and smiled. "I like it. Do I get a mask as well?"

She nodded and fit it around his head. "You'll have to lose the hat for the night. And I'm not sure what we're doing with your shoes yet. Ideally we could find another pair like Kevin's. I'll see what I can come up with. Okay, off with them so I can do final touches. I'll have them back Saturday night. Or would you rather come over and change in my room? Elle will be going home for the weekend."

Kevin nodded, watching Edd slip out of the bodysuit out the corner of his eye. "That'd be great."

Wilhelmina folded the costumes carefully, deposited them in her bag, and turned toward the door. "I'll see you later. Have fun, boys." She caught Kevin's eye on the way out and winked.

"What'd she mean by—"

Kevin pulled Edd closer. "I've only got an hour until practice. Any ideas to pass the time?" His voice was low and husky.

"I—I'm afraid I actually do have work I must be doing."

"Double D," Kevin whined, rolling his body toward Edd's. "Can't it wait until after I leave for practice?"

Edd disentangled himself slowly and kissed Kevin lightly. "Unfortunately, it can't. The assignment is due at eight o'clock and I must finish it. But, if we both were to work on our given assignments now, it is possible that there will be time after your practice."

Kevin sighed but nodded. "Alright. I guess I could work on my paper for English," he grumbled. He put headphones in and began to type out the introduction to an argument on the pros and cons of stem cell research. He hated introductions; like with people he thought the introduction was forgettable and tedious, but somehow necessary to understand the content later on. He tried to remember the first time he met Edd. He strained his memory back as far as he could but as much as he tried to remember, it seemed they had always just lived across the street from each other, their presence in the other's life a constant like the pavement of the cul-de-sac. He looked up from the half a paragraph staring at him from his computer screen and pulled out one of his ear buds. "Hey, Edd?"

Edd didn't look up. "Yes, Kevin?"

"Do you remember how we met?"

Edd turned in his chair to look at the boy. "Of course."

Kevin turned a little pink and pulled out the other headphone. "Could you tell me? I can't remember for the life of me. Seems like you were always just there."

Edd shook his head. "Our mothers were friends for a time. They used to bring us together for play dates when we were mere toddlers."

"What happened to that?"

"They had some sort of falling out. Quite an impressive one if I remember correctly. I never learned of the details but it was enough to sever the friendship. Anyway, after that you and I didn't get to play together anymore. I played with Ed and Eddy more and you chose to spend your time with Rolf, Nazz, and the others. You truly don't recollect any of this?"

Kevin shook his head. His memories from early childhood were fuzzy, mostly wandering the house, watching his parents dance in the kitchen, or riding his tricycle with his father.

"I always presumed you did."

"Why's that?"

Edd blushed. "When we had matured some—well, when we didn't get along anymore—you were always much harsher to Ed and Eddy than to me. I just assumed that you remembered our early camaraderie."

Kevin shook his head and laughed a little. "Maybe I but I don't think so. I just didn't find you as annoying as Eddy."

"And Ed?"

"Ed just seemed to take it better. You were kind of pathetic to beat up."

Edd puffed up his chest, indignation flashing in his eyes. "I most certainly was not pathetic. I bore it just as well as Eddy and Ed."

"It wasn't the during I was talking about. Your nerves showed so bad that it was like kicking a puppy."

He sagged a little.

"It's how I can tell when you're nervous now." He pushed off his chair and walked over to his boyfriend. "But now it's a lot less pathetic and more…what's the word?"

"Endearing?" Edd tried to supply.

Kevin shook his head. "Sexy." He leaned down to kiss the boy. He felt his boyfriend lean into the kiss and pulled back shaking his head. "You need to be working on your assignment and I have to get ready for practice." He rummaged under his bed for his soccer equipment and began to dress.

"You find it sexy when I'm _nervous_?"

He shook his head as he pulled on a jersey. "That came out wrong."

"What did you mean then?"

He pulled on shin guards. "Just that when you aren't sure of yourself—well it doesn't happen that often, you know? You're always so sure of everything. It's kind of sexy to see you out of your element. Not because you're nervous, but because you're more—human, I guess. Sometimes when you're so sure of everything it's intimidating. When you're a little unsure, I feel like I can almost be what you deserve."

Edd looked contemplative and turned back to his computer.

Kevin suspected he'd somehow offended the boy. His cleats clicked across the tile floor as he made his way over. He pressed a kiss into his temple. "I'm terrible with words, I—"

Edd turned quickly and kissed him hard on the mouth. "Go to practice. I'm not angry. I'll see you after."

"Are you sure?"

"You're going to be late."

"I'll skip it if you want me to."

Edd shook his head. "There's no need." He kissed him again. "Go, your team needs you. And I need to finish this. When you get back, you'll have me all to yourself, all night. Alright?"

With a final kiss, Kevin nodded and left for practice. Just as he reached the door, Edd called out, "Kevin?"

He turned back to stare at the slight boy.

"You're exactly what I want and deserve."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The bass could be heard down the block as Edd, Kevin, and Wilhelmina approached the party. Kevin felt Edd shift awkwardly in his costume beside him. He seemed to be having a hard time adjusting to the material. Kevin smirked but didn't say anything; years of wearing Under Armor paid off for this costume. Wilhelmina prowled ahead of them in a costume he was sure would have her bringing home a guy tonight. She wore a pair of short shorts and a cropped button down in navy blue with a policeman's hat and a billy club swinging at her hip. She claimed it was in line with their costumes, swearing she was dressed as Commissioner Gordon, but Kevin wasn't buying it. He could imagine that if his teammates could see her now they wouldn't question why he hung out with the "weird art chick" and his roommate all the time. Most of them would be asking for her number or for him to be their wing man. He guessed that was her intention from the way she had been applying her makeup in the mirror and fluffing her hair.

They walked up the porch steps and paid their entry into a party that Kevin never would have suspected. Black lights had replaced every available source of light. White sheets hung from the walls and over what little furniture was in the front room, giving the place a vacant, haunted look. Through a door covered in a black curtain that Kevin suspected might actually be a bed sheet was a hallway. Fake blood dripped down the walls and what looked like intestines hung from a coat rack. Kevin shuddered and wondered how they managed the effect. He was glad to see that Edd found it amusing as they followed Wilhelmina through the house. They came out into the kitchen. It was small but the center island seemed filled with liquor options; no special effects for Halloween were enacted in the room. "Man, you guys don't fuck around," Kevin commented as he observed the selection of vodka, rum, whiskey, and gin set out.

Wilhelmina grinned. "No shitty beer here. Well worth the entrance fee. Even if it isn't top quality stuff."

Edd bit his lip. "I've never—I mean—I don't know—"

Kevin grinned and kissed his dork lightly, a task hindered by their masks. He had to admit that feeling free to kiss him whenever he felt like it was a nice change. "Don't worry, Dork. We'll get you something good. And not too heavy." He leaned in closer and said in a low voice, "While I plan on taking you home tonight, I don't think I want to carry you." He was pretty sure he watched a flush creep across Edd's cheeks.

"Alright then."

Wilhelmina looked at him. "What do you think?"

"Well I'm going to have a whiskey and coke, but I think he'd be better off with rum. Or maybe vodka."

She nodded and started to pour drinks. Kevin watched as she poured a healthy amount of whiskey into a solo cup, then gin in another and about half as much vodka in a third. She added mixer to all three and handed out the drinks. They walked back into the front room where dancing had started.

"You two going to be okay?"

They both assented they'd be fine.

"Great. I just spotted a cellist I've been into and I'd really like to restring his bow, if you know what I mean. Buzz me before you go, okay?" She sauntered off before either of them could respond.

Kevin and Edd stood by the wall for a few minutes. "Wanna dance?" Kevin finally asked.

Edd nodded, "Alright."

He led the costumed dork to the middle of the floor and took hold of his hip with the hand not holding his drink. Edd pressed his hips backward into Kevin's groin and he realized a problem with the lycra body suit as he stiffened beneath the boy. He wished he'd worn a cup beneath the costuming, rather than the light padding that Wilhelmina had stitched in. She obviously hadn't anticipated the problems that Kevin was experiencing. After a few songs had played, Edd started to move as if he were going to walk away, but Kevin gripped his hip tighter and pulled him back against himself again. "You trying to embarrass me, Nerd?"

"What do you mean?" Edd asked. His voice held genuine concern that he'd done something wrong. "I know my dancing is not the best, but I didn't think that—"

Kevin pressed his hard on more firmly into Edd, making sure he could feel exactly why he would be embarrassed. "Your dancing's fine. But this would be pretty embarrassing."

"Oh. Oh my. That does present a problem."

"What do you mean? Just stay here," he said huskily in his ear, nipping at the cartilage for good measure.

Edd seemed to melt for a moment but turned toward him. "Well, I'm in need of another drink," he said with a wide grin.

Kevin looked at his own cup, nearly empty as well. He took a last swallow of the concoction and sighed. "Give me a second to get myself back under control." He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to think of something that would kill his boner. He tried his last encounter with that girl, Elle, but it was still sex and her resemblance to Edd didn't help at all. In fact, sex with any girl didn't help, as he tried to remember other encounters with girls who looked less like him. Apparently sex while not with his desired partner was still enough for his body. Finally he settled on the one time he'd walked in on his dad watching porn, dick in hand. It disturbed him to remember the incident, but it managed to do the job. He slowly loosened his hold on Edd and whispered in his ear that they were good to go now. Edd led him back into the kitchen and poured them fresh drinks. Kevin watched carefully as he added vodka to his own cup, making sure that he wasn't pouring too much to handle, then encouraged him to add a bit more whiskey to his drink, assuring him that he wasn't getting too drunk.

They reentered the dance room while the music blared through the speakers against the wall, a sub-woofer pumping a constant heartbeat through the room. Kevin nudged Edd as he spotted Wilhelmina against the wall. She had someone, he assumed the cellist, pressing her against the wall, hands on her waist, mouth crushed against her own.

"I suppose we can assume she found what she was looking for then," Edd remarked. He grinned. "Maybe if you're lucky, I'll find what I'm looking for too."

"Oh really?"

Edd's only reaction was to give a sly smile and lead his boyfriend back out to dance, drink in hand.

Kevin knew his previous problem would only return, but the temptation of Edd's body against his own was too much. After two songs, his second drink was gone and he was painfully pressed against Edd's backside again. He took a cue from Wilhelmina, dancing slowly toward the wall with Edd grinding on his hips. When they were close enough to the wall, Kevin pressed the boy against it and captured his lower lip between his teeth. He felt the soft exhale against his own mouth and the accompanying groan in his throat before pressing his mouth firmly to Edd's. He took him under the chin, thumbs pressed firmly behind the jointure to his jaw, kissing him deeply, uncaring for the onlookers around. Edd kissed him back eagerly, tasting the whiskey on his tongue and feeling the slight stubble on his chin. He pressed forward, groin sinking into Edd's, pinning him further into the wall.

Edd pressed his lips to Kevin's again, open mouthed, arms linked behind Kevin's head. He growled in Kevin's ear, "Perhaps we should be departing?"

Kevin nodded furiously, almost knocking his mask aside.

Edd started to reach in Kevin's utility belt, making Kevin's eyes widen as he poked and prodded.

"Edd, what're you—"

He pulled out Kevin's cell phone and started typing quickly. "Wilhelmina asked us to inform her when we were leaving. And I left my own phone in our dormitory to charge, remember?"

Kevin felt the heat in his cheeks. He felt fairly sure that Edd spent more time feeling around than was strictly necessary to pull out his phone. His desire to leave and have Edd to himself in private only strengthened. He pressed his hips back into Edd as he finished texting Wilhelmina. Kevin found Edd's neck again. He nosed the fabric down his neck to expose the flesh. He latched to it, nuzzling and biting, leaving a dark mark on the pale skin. He felt Edd growing against his own length as he applied his attention. Edd took his hips between his hands and gently pushed him back. "Let's take this back to our room," he said in a low, sultry voice.

Kevin nodded and followed Edd out the front door of the art house without a backward glance. The walk back to their dorm took longer than usual, with kisses and gropes exchanged in shadowy corners and pressed against the brick buildings; teeth scraping against tender flesh, hands reaching for groins and ass. Edd pressed him against a tree halfway back to the dorm, leaving a hickey to match the one Kevin had left on his neck. Security found them near their building, about an hour after they left the party, half hidden under a bush, masks askew and lips swollen, both obviously aroused. They were asked to move on to their dorm building if they didn't want to get in trouble for public drunkenness. With an embarrassed flush creeping up both their necks they got up, brushed themselves off, and walked toward their building, finally entering their dorm trying to hide their half hard groins. Inside the halls were empty: everyone on their floor was still out at one party or another. They fell through their door and into the room with hands groping and mouths searching. Kevin pulled off Edd's cape with a quick yank, tossing it across the room before the door had shut, shucking his own the next instant. They both kicked off their boots as they reached the center of the room, still tugging at each other's bodies. Their utility belts fell to the floor around their ankles. Edd pulled at Kevin's costume, pulling it down off his shoulders and leaving it half off at his hips. His hands ran up and down the hard muscles of Kevin's stomach and back, teasingly drawing lines of fire wherever they went. He pulled off Kevin's mask to attack his face in long kisses, glad to see the boy's bright green eyes unhindered by the duct tape mask.

Kevin shuddered as long fingers played invisible chords down his shoulder blades and spine, tracing around each vertebrae. He pulled Edd's body suit down his torso as well, feeling the bones of his hips along his thumbs. Edd groaned as Kevin thumbed his way down his hips and rubbed the soft spot between his hip and groin. They climbed into Kevin's bed, sinking into intimate kisses. Naked chest to naked chest, sweat collecting like dew between them, they continued to explore each other's torsos experimentally. Kevin rolled on top of Edd and began to kiss down his neck with small bites to elicit gasps and groans. He nipped playfully at his collarbone and continued down Edd's pectoral muscles, stopping to ring his nipple with his tongue, lightly flicking the sensitive skin with the tip before sucking hard, hands skimming along his ribs simultaneously. Edd's skin rippled in gooseflesh when Kevin repeated the treatment on the other side. He continued his downward descent, finally running his tongue along the line at Edd's waist where the bodysuit bunched. He gripped the material and started to tug downward, watching Edd's face for a reaction.

Edd glanced down at him. "Why are you stopping?"

Without further encouragement, Kevin pulled the body suit down and off his boyfriend. His erection strained against his underwear. Kevin traced it with his fingers, pressing the root of it in the juncture of his thumb and forefinger massaging it gently. He ran his tongue along the hem of the underwear again and glanced up at Edd, who only nodded with ragged breath. He yanked the briefs down and saw the vision that had haunted his wet dreams since he was sixteen: Edd's naked erection. A growl escaped his mouth and he wanted nothing more than to touch it, but he waited. He followed Edd's legs with his mouth, down one, stopping at knee and ankle to kiss the sensitive skin, then back up the other. He kissed, bit and sucked the flesh on his thighs and at the joint of his hip and leg. Edd panted and tried to urge Kevin closer to his straining cock, but Kevin didn't obliged just yet. He kissed up his stomach and chest, leaving a trail of goose bumps and his boyfriend stifled low moans. He played again with his sensitive nipples, plucking at one with fingers while tonguing the others.

"Kevin," Edd hissed. "Please."

With a wicked grin he finally gripped Edd's swollen cock, feeling the heat of it, a pulsing vein near the base. He stroked along the length, stopping at the head to feel the velvety smooth skin. Edd panted in anticipation, finally closer to getting the relief he needed. Kevin leaned forward, the embarrassment he thought he'd feel at this moment long gone and replaced only with the desire to pleasure the boy in front of him, and took the tip in his mouth. Edd's groan spurred him on. He licked at the head, swirling his tongue around it, swiping his tongue over the slit, before experimentally taking more length in his mouth. He took as much as he could and wrapped his hand around the rest, pumping his shaft slowly while his mouth teased the head. With his other hand he pressed gently in the soft spot behind Edd's balls, gently massaging at the gland he knew was hidden there. Edd tensed at the heightened feeling but relaxed quickly.

Edd's cock popped out of Kevin's mouth with a lewd sound when Kevin looked up. "Can I try something—something you might not like the idea of? It feels pretty good but—"

Edd nodded, "I trust you."

Kevin nodded wordlessly and pushed himself off the bed. From his desk he extracted a small bottle and returned to Edd. He pushed his body suit off and climbed back into bed. He poured a small amount of lube over a finger and on the hand he had been pumping with. He returned to Edd's cock, licking from root to tip before swallowing the head again. He worked up a steady rhythm and soon Edd gasped wordlessly urging Kevin to continue. He lifted his hips, thrusting into Kevin's open mouth, and a hand gripped firmly at Kevin's hair. As Edd became more aroused, Kevin gently prodded him with the lubricated finger, slipping in as far as the first knuckle before pausing for Edd to clench and adjust to the intrusion. He looked up at his boyfriend, cock still between his sucking lips, with raised eyebrows silently asking for permission to continue or looking for an indication that he should cease and desist immediately. Edd nodded to Kevin and thrust upward again when Kevin slid his tongue along the underside of the crown of Edd's cock. He pressed his finger a bit further, in slow increments, trying to maintain the rhythm he had built with mouth and hand. When he finally fit his finger completely in Edd and he had adjusted, Kevin curled his finger upward, trying to hit the spot. After a few unsuccessful tries a memory of an ex-girlfriend attempting the same feat floated across his memory. He adjusted a little and tried again. Edd gave a small yelp that dissolved quickly into a groan of pleasure. Kevin pressed on, massaging the gland gently. He suppressed a grin as he felt Ed getting closer to the edge of his orgasm. He felt his balls tighten and the muscles wrapped around his finger clenched. Kevin sped his oral ministrations, engulfing more of him with every downward bob, pulling him as far to the back of his throat as he could. With a gasp and a buck, Edd's muscles spasmed and Kevin's mouth flooded with the hot taste of Edd.

Kevin sat up on his knees, swallowing and wiping the corner of his mouth on the back of his hand. He decided that while jizz didn't taste good, it wasn't nearly as bad as he had always expected. And he suspected Edd's clean diet had something to do with it. Edd looked sated, eyes glazed and chest flushed. Before he could ask, Kevin changed out of his bodysuit and pulled on a pair of shorts to go to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his hands. When he returned, Edd was sitting up in bed with a blush staining his cheeks. He pulled Kevin to him and kissed him deeply, arms wrapped around the back of his neck, holding him close.

"How was it?" Kevin murmured to him, fingers brushing over Edd's spine gently. He breathed in the scent of Edd; usually so clean and smelling of soap, he had the distinct scent of sex competing. It was intoxicating.

Edd pulled him back in the bed, climbing atop him to kiss him with renewed vigor. He worked his way up to Kevin's ear, nuzzling the lobe and soft skin just beneath. From there he continued down, trailing kisses along his neck and shoulder. He kissed the inside of Kevin's bicep, the side of his ribs and stomach, his hips and the line of his pant over his waist. With a deep breath Edd took hold of the waistband and slowly began to pull them down, kissing each bit of skin as it appeared. Kevin murmured between startled breaths that he didn't have to, but Edd merely continued his exploration and asked Kevin lift his hips a bit so that he could pull the shorts off. Kevin's cock sprung free from his shorts, standing at attention as Edd examined it. He kissed around the base of it, nosing at it occasionally. He kissed up the shaft and with a look of concentration stuck out his tongue and licked around the head.

Kevin hissed in an effort to control himself but he suspected he wouldn't last long. Edd ran his tongue along the head again and started to kiss his way back up Kevin's stomach and chest. His hand replaced his mouth, stroking the shaft with a measured, rotating grip. He swiped his thumb over the top a few times while he bit down on his shoulder. Kevin reached for Edd's face, pulling him up for a gentle kiss. Edd placed his other hand on Kevin's balls, tugging lightly. The unexpected stimulation was too much for Kevin. With a stifled groan around Edd's mouth and a slight buck of the hips, he came into Edd's hands before he could give any sort of warning.

Edd reached for a towel and carefully cleaned them both off. He settled down next to Kevin, a hand laid across his stomach, legs intertwined, and kissed his neck. It occurred to him, as he fell into a sated sleep, that this was the first time he had Kevin had ever really been naked at the same time. He smiled to himself and slipped into a deep sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Kevin woke first the next morning. His arms were still wrapped around Double D, who had several hickeys lining his shoulders and neck. Wilhelmina was going to kill him for leaving more visible marks, he thought with a wry smile. He didn't care. The night before was completely worth any reprimand she could dole out. He pressed a kiss into Edd's shoulder, over a particularly dark mark, and gently eased himself out of bed. The room looked like a tornado had hit a costume shop and it reeked of sex. While Edd still slept, he picked up the costuming, folding each carefully to return to Wilhelmina. He found the lube still sitting on his desk and returned it to the drawer. Finally he opened the window hoping to air the room out a bit. Cool air blew in, causing goose bumps to spread across his exposed skin. He retrieved his phone from the discarded utility belt and saw a message from Jason. All it said was "Dude, where were you last night?"

Kevin wasn't sure what to say at first but decided to be semi-honest. He responded that he'd been at a party with his roommate and his roommate's hot friend.

Jason responded with, "Chris was pissed you weren't there."

Kevin wanted to tell him that Chris could go fuck himself, but instead just sent back, "didn't know it was mandatory."

Edd was stirring behind him. He put his phone away and climbed back into bed, pulling his boyfriend close against him again and pressing his lips into the marks on his neck. Edd wiggled a little, bare skin against his. Kevin leaned forward and kissed his shoulders. "Good morning," he said in a husky whisper.

Edd gave a jaw popping yawn and turned toward Kevin. "Morning." Edd seemed to be admiring his own handiwork on Kevin's neck and chest. He reached out gently and brushed a finger across a mark on his clavicle. "You'll have some explaining to do in the locker room I'm afraid."

Kevin shook his head. "I can come up with something."

"I never thought you wouldn't. Just that someone is bound to bring it up. Your captain if no one else."

Kevin rolled his eyes at the thought of Chris noticing the marks. "Might keep me out of trouble then."

Edd pulled back. "Trouble?"

He shrugged. "Apparently he was upset I didn't go to the party at the soccer house last night."

"And your hickeys will keep you out of trouble? You could have gone, you know."

He shook his head. "I didn't want to go. Every time I go over there they try to get me to take some girl home. If I had gone last night it would have been no different and it probably would have resulted in a rumor of some horrible STD or something, because I'm sure they're all starting to wonder at this point. But, if they think that I missed the party because I was getting laid..." he trailed off, the implication obvious.

"So I was just some art house floozy?" he asked with a smirk.

With an overdramatic sigh he rolled on his back, pulled his hands behind his head and with a grin said, "Afraid so."

It earned him an elbow to the ribs before he rolled back over to nuzzle Edd's neck. "Fine. You were much much more than an art house floozy. And you were fan-fucking-tastic. Better?"

Edd kissed him lightly. "Except for the profanity, yes. Much."

"Good."

Edd squirmed a little.

"What's wrong?"

His face went pink and he mumbled something incoherent.

"What?"

He sighed. "It just occurred to me that we're both um—still disrobed."

Kevin knew they were and he loved the feel of Edd's skin against his, but he suspected it was a bit too much for Edd. He had never seemed the type to be comfortable to just hang out naked. "Would you like to change that?"

Edd chewed his lip in indecision. He finally conceded, "I don't know."

Kevin smiled. "Come on, let's get dressed and get some breakfast. If you want to take my clothes off later, you can."

Edd rolled his eyes but climbed out of bed.

They dressed and as they were walking out the door of the building Kevin stopped. "What do you say to skipping the caf and hitting the diner downtown? I don't think I can handle another day of frozen scrambled eggs and questionable sausage. I'll treat."

Edd smiled, "You're taking me on a breakfast date?"

Kevin rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I guess I am." It seemed fitting after the night before.

Edd nodded happily. "Alright. But what if people see us?"

Kevin shrugged. "I doubt many people are going to be up at this hour on a weekend. And even less will be at the diner. And if they do, whatever. We'll go from there." He was getting sick of worrying what everyone else would think if they found out. It was only fear of losing his scholarships and being forced to drop out of school that had him keeping up the lie. "So, yes? Breakfast at the diner?"

Edd nodded. "That sounds wonderful."

They decided to walk the six blocks to the diner since the weather was nice, if a bit crisp. Kevin was right: very few people on campus were up and moving around. Security and grounds keepers moved quietly about the campus but there were few students. The diner, however, was bustling. Waitresses zipped from table to table and almost every table had occupants. As they walked in an older lady in a waitresses' apron mentioned there was a small table in the back, if they weren't expecting any other company. Edd and Kevin found the table quickly and the waitress brought them a couple menus. She took their drink orders before heading back to the kitchens.

"Coffee for me, please," Kevin said immediately.

Edd glanced at the options on the menu and asked for a glass of orange juice and a water. They perused their options for a few minutes, both settling rather quickly on what they planned to order. Neither was in a hurry to call the busy waitress back over though, knowing she'd make it in time. Edd smirked across the table at Kevin.

"What?"

"You look like you were mauled by some kind of wild animal," he said with a crooked smile.

Kevin grinned. "Well if I remember correctly, I think I was. Not that you're looking much better."

Edd shrugged. "I like to label what's mine."

The waitress came by and took their orders, making an offhand comment about working up an appetite. Kevin just grinned at a slightly uncomfortable Edd. When he saw Edd's unsure, questioning look, he shrugged. "It's kind of obvious today what happened. We'll have to see if we can do something about all this," he motioned vaguely to their marks, "before class tomorrow."

Edd shrugged a little. "Perhaps Wilhelmina will have an idea on how to take care of them?"

Kevin nodded. "It's possible."

Edd's phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up seeing a message from Wilhelmina across the screen. "Speak of the devil and she will appear," he murmured quietly.

Kevin glanced at the screen. "What's up?"

"She just wanted to make sure we made it back to our room last night. And she made a comment about possibly bailing us out of jail for public indecency. I guess we made quite the scene at the party last night."

Kevin shrugged. "I guess. I didn't really notice."

"Nor did I."

"You want to ask her to join us? I'm sure she's got a story, and maybe we can ask about our uh—spots?"

Edd agreed and within a few minutes she appeared through the door of the diner and found her way back to their table.

"Jesus fucking Christ on a cross, you two."

Edd blushed scarlet. Kevin ignored her remark and pulled a chair over from a table that had just vacated.

She sat heavily on the chair, still staring at the various hickeys visible on the two boys.

"So uh—how was your night, Willy?" Kevin asked, hoping to break her gaze.

"Apparently not as good as yours."

"Things didn't work out with the cellist?" Edd asked.

She shook her head. "No, they did. I mean, he was in my bed until about an hour ago. But it looks like you two still managed to have more fun than I did."

Kevin shrugged. "Any idea on, you know, covering them?"

"Best I can come up with is turtlenecks and scarves. Maybe make up, but neither of you are really make up guys. And I don't know what you'll do for your swim lesson or the locker room for soccer..."

"You don't know any way to make them fade faster?" Edd asked.

She shook her head. "One of my friends swears by breaking up the bruise with a tube of Chap Stick or a cold spoon, but I don't know that it actually works. I suppose it could be worth a try."

Edd nodded and slipped a spoon into his pocket. When Kevin and Wilhelmina gave him incredulous looks he shrugged. "We don't have any. I'll bring it back."

The waitress returned moments later with Kevin and Edd's meals and took Wilhelmina's, pouring a mug of coffee for her and topping off Kevin's. She seemed unhappy about the new addition to the table but didn't say anything.

"So the cellist was no good then?" Kevin asked as he popped a hash brown in his mouth.

She shrugged. "He was alright but not, you know, mind blowing. I don't know. He said he'd call me later in the week for coffee or something. I'm not holding my breath."

"Why not?" Edd inquired.

"Eh he did his best last night but I got the feeling this morning he wasn't really interested in seeing me again. I mean I could be wrong, but I'd be surprised if he called."

"Do you really want him to?" Kevin watched her closely while she explained and got the feeling that even if the guy were head over heels in love with her she wouldn't be too interested.

"I don't know. Maybe. It doesn't really matter."

"Ah, so you like this guy a lot," he joked.

The waitress brought Wilhelmina's food, asked if they needed anything else, and left again.

"I haven't really liked anyone in a while. At least not like that."

"Hey," Edd said, stung.

She reached for his hand gently. "Sorry sweetie, you were just going to be an easy lay. Maybe more would have come but, I mean, I wasn't looking for anything else. We're both just lucky that you weren't interested."

"I'm going to count myself in on that lucky thing," Kevin said with a shy smile.

Edd smiled too.

"Okay. Enough with the cute. Save it for later."

Kevin's phone buzzed again and another message from Jason popped up on the screen asking where he was at. Without really thinking he responded and hit send. Wilhelmina began to fill in details on the rest of the party and the more PG aspects of her night, Kevin offering what he could in way of guidance on the male psyche, Edd offering a little less. The diner was emptying out quickly, customers on their way to church or other Sunday morning activities. They had a clear view of the door when Jason walked in.

"Shit," Kevin said as he watched Jason approach.

Edd glanced quickly. "Oh my. This presents a problem."

Jason found them quickly and sat at the table without being invited. His first look was toward Kevin, with a lopsided grin. "Man—I was going to tell you you missed a hell of a party but I apparently I missed a better one." He stole a look around the table and his mouth opened in surprise. "Oh. I—alright then."

Kevin chewed his lip silently.

"Well damn. You—you're?"

Kevin nodded slowly.

Jason shook his head. "Never would have guessed it." He turned his attention to Wilhelmina. "Hi, I'm Jason," he said extending his hand.

She introduced herself with a glowing smile.

Kevin rolled his eyes. Jason was going to be eaten alive. But the poor guy would probably enjoy it for a while.

"So this is why you've been skipping out on the parties lately then?"

"Would've skipped more if I could have. Chris has a nasty tendency of trying to hook me up with girls he can't get so that their friends will sleep with him. And we both know how well that works for him."

"But you two are...?"

"Yeah."

He nodded. "Okay. So the championships: Coach wants to increase practices. Since the games are coming up fast. Just as a heads up. You'll probably get that email in the next hour or two."

"You already talked to Coach today?"

Jason shrugged. "He likes to keep me up to date. Doesn't think Chris does a real good job on getting word to the rest of the team."

Kevin nodded at that much.

"Speaking of Chris, he's not going to like this," he said with a sip of coffee.

"That's why I haven't said anything about it. I know how most the team will feel."

"And you're okay with that?" He turned to Edd.

Edd shrugged noncommittally. "I understand why. It's generally not an issue. As long as he's not bringing girls back to our room as your captain so often guns for, I don't have a lot of room to complain."

"Fair enough."

"You're taking this a lot better than any of us expected," Wilhelmina noted.

Jason shrugged. "My brother's gay. It doesn't really matter to me one way or another who you sleep with. Kev's got the best foot on the team; if he wants to sleep with a guy, it doesn't bother me as long as he can keep playing at his best."

"That's a good motto."

"Anyway, I should get going. I have a ten page paper due tomorrow and I've barely started. I just wanted to give you the heads up on Coach. There's something else I need to talk to you about but it can wait til later on. Anyway, I'll catch you later."

"Oh you know what, I'll walk with you," Wilhelmina said, getting up from the table. She threw a ten down and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I have to get in the studio and finish up my project."

They left together, chatting quietly.

"Jason's not going to know what hit him," Edd commented.

Kevin laughed. "No, he won't. Who knows, though? They actually might do well together." He threw some money on the table. "You ready to go?"

Edd stood and walked out on to the street. They started to walk back to campus slowly. Edd wanted to reach for his hand but held back. "That was unexpected," he remarked quietly.

Kevin nodded. "It was."

"Do you think your team is going to find out?"

He mused over the idea. "No. I think Jason meant it when he said he didn't care. And he knows how a lot of the guys will respond when it does come out. So I think he'll keep quiet until you and I are ready."

Edd nodded.

"Are you okay?"

He shrugged.

Kevin pulled him down an empty side street. "What's going on?"

Edd shrugged again. "It's nothing. I just—I don't—I don't like hiding it. I don't like being your dirty little secret. And I know you don't like it either. It's just exceedingly complex and trying."

Kevin put a finger under his chin and made him look at him. It amazed him how small Edd looked, despite being a good three inches taller than him. "I don't just not like it. I hate it. I do. And I know you hate it." He pressed a kiss to his lips. "Please just hold out a little longer. I know it's awful but it's about keeping my scholarships and staying in school. At the end of the year, I'll come out to everyone. I'll get loans if I have to quit the teams."

"I wasn't saying that I can't hold out. It's just difficult to take sometimes."

Kevin kissed him again, pressed against the brick wall of a knick knack shop. "I know it is. Soon. I promise."

"No, don't promise me that. I don't want you to quit the teams, drop out of school, or take out loans you can't afford to pay back. I should never have brought it up."

He shook his head. "It'll be alright. I don't want to hide it anymore either. I want to be able to hold your hand in public, or kiss you after a game. I want you to be comfortable joining me at a game. I just want to give the baseball team a shot, then we're done hiding. I just want to prove myself to the teams. Once that's done, maybe it won't matter as much."

Edd shook his head. "I think you're giving them too much credit. You know that some of them, no matter how good of a player you are, won't accept it."

He shrugged. "If it's that way then it's that way."

"You don't have to come out. I can wait. This is why I didn't want to mention it."

"Let's talk about it later. I don't think either of us are going to change our minds any time soon." He saw that Edd only wanted him to be happy, but Edd didn't seem to realize that hiding it didn't make him any happier. It was nothing compared to the misery of hiding it and not being with him, but even that change didn't make up for the fact that he knew he was hurting Edd.

Edd nodded. "Alright. Come on, let's get back. I have a report to be working on. And we have to study for that chemistry exam."

Kevin groaned. "I forgot about that. God I don't want to study." His voice reached a whine.

Edd smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Come on. If you study like a good boy, I'll make it worth your while."

Kevin asked him how he meant, but Edd only said "I'm sure I can think of something" before he turned and walked back out onto the street, toward campus. Kevin followed, mind racing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Hey, Kevin, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jason asked as they were walking out of the locker room after a particularly long practice.

"What's up?"

Jason slowed his gait and allowed the rest of the team to pass them before he said, "Well with the end of the season coming Coach has been making some decisions on next year's line up. We've got an eye on some decent players from around the country and all that."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. They haven't stopped talking about that kid from upstate."

"Right. Well he's also really been taking into account the lineup and how we function as a team. And well—he's asked me to be captain."

"That's fantastic! Congratulations man." He meant his congratulations too, Jason was the best option for team captain. He cared about all of the players, made an effort to help everyone when he could, and could keep up on getting information to players quickly.

"Thanks, yeah it's really awesome. But I wanted to talk to you about something."

Kevin had an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. While Jason hadn't said anything to the guys about their discussion Sunday morning, all the talk about the lineup made him worry about his welcome on the team next year, part of him still held on hope. He licked his lips and responded, "Yeah?"

"Well, Chris and Jake are graduating this year and I'll need an assistant captain. I was hoping you'd be interested in the position? Coach thinks you're the right choice and he wants you around so that in another year or two you might, you know, take the captain position. If you'd want it."

"Coach wants me to take it?"

Jason nodded. "He's all about putting you to it. He thinks you're good with the other guys and that with the right motivation you could be a good captain."

Kevin sighed. "I dunno man. I was going to tell everyone about—you know, at the end of the year. I've been prepping for the idea of not being welcome on the team anymore."

"I don't give a shit. I told you that. Coach doesn't either—"

Kevin stopped short and grabbed Jason's elbow. "Coach knows?"

"He guessed a couple weeks ago. Asked me if I knew anything. At the time I didn't so I just said you had been with girls Chris had set you up with before. He didn't seem convinced but I mean, I haven't confirmed anything to him."

"So he knows. That's not the same as not caring."

"If he cared don't you think he'd have called you out on it? I mean he called Drew out for drinking so much. And Sam for being high so often. And Jun when he was dating that psycho drama girl who kept him up three nights in a row. If he thought it was going to affect your game or the team, he'd have said something by now."

Kevin chewed his lower lip and started walking again.

"Look, I'm not saying your confession to the rest of the team is going to be easy, but there are some of us who won't give two shits. You're a good player and that's all that matters. And I really want your help with the team next year."

Kevin nodded. "Alright. Yeah. I'll do it. Assuming you're right and it isn't an issue."

Jason clapped a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "Great. Next season is going to be awesome. I can't wait to tell Coach."

"Don't mention that I'm into guys to him yet, okay?"

Jason nodded. "Sure, no problem. I hadn't thought to anyway. I assume you'll tell him at some point though?"

"Yeah. Before the guys probably. Just—you know, not yet."

Jason nodded. He left him outside his building and went on. Kevin made his way slowly up to his dorm, opting to take the stairs over the elevator. He entered the room, expecting Edd to still be in the library working on his hypothesis for his biology class.

"Greetings, Kevin," the nerd said, looking up from his bed.

"Thought you'd be in the library." He dropped his duffle bag by his bed and pulled off his dirty jersey.

"No, I managed to borrow the books I needed and the online research database has been most helpful. I figured I'd rather work in our room than in the library. It's uncomfortable to wear something around my neck so often. Those scarves are somewhat suffocating."

Kevin gave a small smile. "I can understand that."

"What did your teammates have to say about the um marks I left?" Edd asked curiously.

"Well, they were all impressed. And I'm completely off the hook for missing the party. And oh, about half of them wanted your number."

"They wanted _my _number?" His voice held a shocked awe.

"Don't get any ideas there smarty. They think you're a chick."

Edd shook his head with a grin. "I wasn't getting ideas. I'd like to see the look on their faces if they did get a hold of it and found out that I'm not 'a chick' as you so eloquently put it."

He laughed a little. "Yeah. That would be good."

"How was your practice?"

He shrugged. "Cold mostly. But I think we're close to being ready for the championships."

"That's very good. Maybe Wilhelmina and I will attend to watch."

He smiled more fully. "That'd be great. Jason caught me after practice."

"Oh yes?"

"He wants me to be assistant captain for him next year."

Edd jumped up with a giant smile. He pulled Kevin into a strong hug. "That's wonderful."

Kevin hugged him back. He rested his head in the crook of the taller boy's neck, inhaling his clean scent. He shrugged. "I guess so."

"What's wrong?" The concern in Edd's voice was evident but Kevin didn't let him pull back quite yet.

"It's all assuming I'm still on the team next year. And I'm not sure I will be."

Edd pushed himself gently back to look at Kevin, his smile faltering. "You really, truly don't have to come out. Much as we both dislike being in a closeted relationship, it isn't a big deal in the long run. Your teams—they matter for your college career. And that is a huge impact on your future. Our future if this works out."

Kevin pressed a small kiss to Edd's lips. "I'm going to go shower."

"Alright. That's probably a good idea."

He grinned. "You saying I smell, Dork?"

"There are things in Ed's room that smelled better than you after a soccer practice."

Kevin faked offense. "Alright, alright, I'm going." As he walked down the hall, towel slung over his shoulder and shower supplies in hand, he thought about how lucky he was that Edd could make him laugh when he felt glum.

* * *

Edd shook his head as the door closed. He returned to his studies, almost done with the beginning portion of his report. Kevin's worry unsettled him though and he could no longer focus. He decided to change into his pajamas and crawled into Kevin's bed, curling up on top of the comforter with his chemistry book, studying for the next chapter. When Kevin returned, wrapped in a towel, water still streaming off his shoulders, Edd sat up sleepily, eyeing his boyfriend to gauge his mood. He seemed lighter, like the sullenness that had weighed him down so heavily a half hour earlier had washed away like the dirt and sweat, swept down the drain with soap and water. "How're you feeling?" he murmured.

Kevin leaned forward and kissed him softly by way of answering.

Edd smiled. "Good. You had me worried."

"Worried? About what?"

Edd shook his head. "You've been quite preoccupied lately. Especially in all things concerning your athleticism."

Kevin frowned. He started to pull on clothes, dropping his towel on the floor.

Edd pushed himself off the bed and folded the towel neatly before Kevin could get to it, mostly to give his hands something to do.

Kevin fell onto his bed. "You gunna join me up here, Dork?"

He slowly climbed back into bed, wrapping his slight frame around Kevin's more solid build. "Are you quite certain you're feeling alright?"

"I'm sure." He stayed quiet for a time, stroking Edd's hair and the vertebrae between his shoulders. "Sports have always been a part of my life. Don't get me wrong. I never wanted anything other than to play as a kid."

"Then why are you insisting on jeopardizing it? If they're that important to you—"

"Because you're more important. And because I've hidden who I am since I hit puberty and realized that I'm gay. I'm tired of the rouse. It's exhausting pretending to be something you're not. And I'm tired of feeling ashamed of not being 'normal.' I just want to stop hiding. I want to take you out as my boyfriend. I want to just be able to be me for the first time in my life. And if all that means that I have to give up playing on an actual team, that's fine. There are always intramural or city teams."

Edd remained quiet, listening to Kevin's steady heartbeat.

"What I'm trying to say is, it isn't just for you. I'm going to do it for myself too."

He nodded his head. "Alright. Whatever you want to do. I just wanted to be completely certain that you were not sacrificing something you enjoyed greatly for my benefit."

Kevin kissed the top of his head. "No, Dork. Not only for you. But I probably wouldn't do it if we weren't together."

"What do you mean?" Edd didn't want to be the reason Kevin gave up something he so obviously loved.

"Well," he started slowly, his voice heavy, sleep tinging the edges. Edd could hear the hesitation in his voice as well. "If we weren't together, I wouldn't be out to anyone. Which means I'd still be pretending to be straight. I wouldn't have the confidence to even try to come out because—because no one would be there for me if I were—what's the word? Ostrich sized?"

Edd giggled. Kevin was obviously tired from practice. "I think you mean ostracized."

"Right. Thanks. Being with you gives me a reason to finally do it. I don't think I'd be able to do it for anyone else."

"No?"

Edd felt Kevin shake his head.

"May I inquire how long you had been interested in me before you made it known?"

"Since the ninth grade."

"The ninth grade?" The shock was plain in his voice.

Kevin sighed. "Mmmm yeah. Right around there."

"But—but you were with Nazz then. At least—"

"She was kind of the reason I realized I didn't like girls. Not that she isn't great, but like she was the triggering moment that made me think something wasn't right. I had always thought I wanted to be with her and when I realized I didn't it made me think that if I didn't want to be with her, did I really want to be with anyone? And then I started noticing you more, different than before. At first I thought it was something else. But then, it didn't go away. And you turned up when I was sleeping and—"

"You _dreamed_ about me?"

Kevin shrugged. "Yeah. At first they were just dreams about like hanging out with you though. So I thought, 'huh maybe subconsciously I want to be his friend.' But then—never mind." Kevin's abrupt stop and the way his arm tightened around Edd made him curious.

"But then what? What happened that made you know for sure?"

He sighed again. "You do like to embarrass me, don't you, Dork? No I'm kidding, don't argue."

"Then what happened?"

"I had a dream—about you—that was more...R rated you could say. Actually, R rated makes it sound too clean. It was explicit."

Edd nodded. "And that's when you knew for sure?"

"Well...Like I said before, I tried to force it for a while. I didn't necessarily believe it at first, but when the dreams kept coming..." he trailed off. "Eventually I just kind of accepted it and knew."

"So did you know we would be at the same university?"

"No. That was a complete surprise. So was finding out we were rooming together. I thought I'd go off to college and things would be the same as before. That I could ignore everything and keep up the same reputation I'd had in high school."

Edd snuggled into the boy's chest. "I'd say I'm sorry that your plan didn't work out, but that would be a lie at best."

Kevin laughed, his arm instinctively holding Edd closer. "I wouldn't say it either."

"May I—no, never mind."

"What?"

"Please forget I started to say anything at all."

"No what?" Edd felt Kevin pull back and look at his face, which he knew was bright red. "What has you so embarrassed that you can't even ask? You've never been embarrassed of asking a question in the however many years I've known you."

"I just—I wondered what we um did in your dreams."

Kevin laughed and laid back down. "Oh. Sometimes some of what we did the other night. Sometimes more. My imagination is a very...creative space." He laughed again.

Edd was embarrassed but stutteringly asked, "More how?"

"More. Like, you know, uh sex."

Edd nodded. "I—I don't know if—"

He heard Kevin shaking his head over him. "I'm not asking you to. Don't worry. I know things have moved kind of fast. We can slow it down if you want."

He shrugged. "I like where we're at now. Can we stay still for a while?"

"Sure thing, Dork." The smile in his voice warmed Edd and made his stomach flutter.

Edd nodded and his arm and leg tightened around Kevin.

"We—we don't have to ever do that, if you don't want to."

Edd stayed quiet, thinking to himself. "In your dreams, how—how did it go?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he started slowly. "Who um penetrated whom?" He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks and his voice cracked on the word 'penetrate'.

"Oh." Kevin stayed quiet a moment. "Um. Usually I was the one who uh 'penetrated' you. But I've had others where you were uh giving it to me."

Edd nodded. "You mean, we could do that?"

"I—uh—yeah. If we ever decide to go that far, we can do it that way. If you want."

"Okay." Edd thought about having sex with Kevin, about if he'd be able to or how he'd want it to be if they decided to. He wondered seriously if he'd even be able to do it. Sex had never appealed to him before, the thought too messy to even consider. And the thought of sex with a man—it would probably be messier, filthy perhaps. But with Kevin—he might be willing to try. Eventually. A memory of the other night floated across his mind, a finger placed correctly, massaging a hidden gland with quick sure strokes. Intense pleasure he hadn't suspected possible. It hadn't even seemed to be too unclean—

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Not in a sexual way, but you're thinking of the technical side, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"What're you thinking?"

Edd hesitated. "It could be very messy. Filthy even."

Kevin nodded. "It could."

"But I believe that, eventually, we might be able to try."

"Okay. I'm in no hurry. But I meant it when I said, we don't have to do it at all if you don't want."

Edd smiled and listened to the steady rhythm of Kevin's heartbeat.

* * *

Chris eyed Kevin at lunch the next day. Edd had gotten caught up in a project for his biology class, so Kevin ate with his team. He had just settled in to a seat near the end of the table in the back corner of the cafeteria when he felt Chris's eyes on him. No matter how much Chris said he didn't care if Kevin missed the party if he were getting laid, there still hung about him a hint of hate and distrust that Kevin had sensed within the first few weeks of school. He almost wanted to switch his major to psychology so he could begin to dissect the complexities facing him in one overgrown bully.

"What's up with your roommate?" he asked with a sneer, sniffing back snot from an oncoming cold.

Kevin winced at his tone and tried not to gag at the thought of the thick mucus sliding down his throat. "What do you mean?"

"He's always hanging around. And he's such a know-it-all." He wiped his nose on the back of his hand and went back to attacking his sandwich.

"Yeah?" He was beginning to remember vividly one of the many reasons he had stopped eating with his teammates.

Chris gave him an odd, measuring look. "He's in that biology class I have to take to graduate. God he's such a pain in the ass. Him and that art girl he hangs out with so often. You actually like hanging out with him?"

Kevin shrugged, hoping he looked noncommittal. "I've known him since we were in diapers. Our moms were close. Guess I'm used to it." He wanted to say that when Edd spouted off facts and informational tidbits it made his stomach flutter and pulse quicken. That he was pretty sure the more comfortable Edd go with someone, the less often facts slipped out and the more informal his speech patterns became, or he thought it seemed that way. He might have only noticed it all less. And that maybe Chris could use the educational tidbits since he was barely passing any of his classes, including the sophomore biology class that his "annoying roommate" would likely be more than willing to tutor him in if he asked nicely. Instead he took another bite of his burger.

Jason tried to change the subject, but Chris pressed on. "Don't you ever want to beat the shit out of him though?"

Kevin shrugged again. He tried to swallow but his throat wasn't cooperating.

"Least he lets you fuck in the room I guess."

He took a long pull from the glass of water in front of him and managed to get most of the macerated burger down his throat. "He doesn't bother me."

"He'd annoy the fuck out of me," Chris said definitively.

Kevin finally leveled his gaze at his captain, full of steel and anger boiling just under the surface. "Good thing he's my roommate then and not yours, huh?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "I'd want to beat the shit out of him. I'm surprised you haven't yet. Kid's probably a little fag anyway. Might be good to toughen him up."

Jason looked up at their captain. His jaw was set tightly, but Kevin guessed he was the only one who noticed that. "He's not so bad. He's in that history class I'm taking and he's helped me out a couple times when I couldn't remember dates or why one event led to another."

"Whatever. He's still probably a fag." He started to say something about how being gay was unnatural and that 'pussy was where it was at.' He continued on this thread, making comments to make his conservative parents proud. Proclaiming his disgust in homosexuality in every breath. "They all need a good ass kicking. Should do us all a favor and just e—"

Kevin watched Jason clench his fists on the table, his jaw so tight the veins and tendons in his neck bulged, making it look like his head was in danger of actually exploding.

"Hey Jason, I think I forgot that book I was supposed to lend you. It's in my room but I've got class in twenty minutes. Mind coming back to grab it with me?" Kevin threw the rest of his half-eaten burger on his tray and looked pleadingly at his friend.

"Sure," he practically growled.

They left the cafeteria without another word and without looking back at their teammates. Jason nearly broke his plate as he slammed it on the conveyor belt that took it back into the kitchen to be washed. He didn't stop fuming until they were nearly back to Kevin's building. Kevin merely steered him into the elevator and into his room. When the older boy leaned against Kevin's bed he seemed to have contained his rage more and his breathing was almost normal.

"You okay man?"

Jason shook his head. The tendons in his neck still stood out in sharp relief against the softer flesh there and Kevin could still see too much white in his eyes.

"Need a drink?" Kevin asked. He reached under his bed and found the bottle of whiskey he stored there.

Jason grabbed for it and took a long drag off the bottle. "Thanks," he said, wiping the remainder off his mouth with the back of his hand. "Good shit."

Kevin nodded solemnly. "My dad gave it to me before I left for school. Said it was a gift for getting into such a good school."

He gave the bottle back and Kevin returned it to it's hiding spot.

Jason still nearly shook with suppressed fury.

"Man, are you okay? You're angrier than I am, and you're the straight one here."

He shook his head again. His voice was harsh, almost broken, when he said, "My brother tried to commit suicide because of little shits like that. My _twin_ brother tried to kill himself because of assholes like Chris." The fine shake became full wracks against the bed, finally becoming too much as Jason sunk to the floor, holding his head bent between his forearms, gripping the hair at the top of his head.

Kevin didn't know what to say, so he sat on the floor next to him and pulled an arm around his shoulders. Jason's breath was ragged but he didn't think he was crying, he didn't seem to have it in him to sob for the near loss. Either way, Kevin held his friend as he shook, and when Jason finally started to talk, he listened.

"It was last year. He went to a school a couple hours from here. He's in art school. He's really good. College's been the first time we've been separated, ya know? So I didn't know he was getting shit for it. Even during the summer between freshman and sophomore year he didn't say anything. Just before Thanksgiving I got a call from my parents that he had tried—he had attempted—he was in the hospital. His roommate wasn't supposed to be back that night but had forgotten something I guess. He's the one who called 911. The note—the note explained it all. I almost lost my _twin _because fuckers like Chris can't get it through their heads that normal isn't really a fucking thing."

Kevin didn't want to ask but he felt like he needed to know. "Is—is he—okay?"

Jason nodded. His breathing was stabilizing and the shake was subsiding. "They managed to save him. He's back at the university at home, living with Mom and Dad and Chels and finishing his degree there. Sees his psychologist once a week."

He knew to keep him talking until he calmed completely. "Who's Chels?"

Jason laughed, though it sounded like a strangled sob. "Our little sister. She's a senior in high school this year." He pulled out his cellphone and pulled up his photo album, selecting a picture of a very pretty girl with dark brown hair and a smattering of freckles covering her face.

He could see the family resemblance immediately.

"She's pretty. Where's she want to go to school?"

Jason shrugged under Kevin's arm. "Dunno. She's applying all over the country. Wants to go into archaeology. Mesoamerican, not biblical. She keeps making that distinction."

Kevin nodded.

Jason seemed to have pulled it together. "Shit, didn't you say you had class?"

Kevin laughed. "Did you think I had a book to lend you as well?" He stood and pulled himself up to sit on the bed instead of the floor. As he sat he got a whiff of Edd's scent puffing off the comforter and pillows. It distracted him momentarily. He glanced at the clock on the microwave, wondering vaguely when the boy would be back.

Jason looked chagrined as he stood back up. "No. I guess not."

"All my classes are in the mornings. Eight AM to twelve-thirty."

He cringed. "Yikes. That's got to suck."

Kevin shook his head. "I prefer mornings. My dad drilled it into me as a kid that mornings are better for exercise and getting shit done." Mornings had gotten a bit harder recently. Every morning he woke with Edd in his arms, he wanted to stay and savor the quiet moments with Edd. Light kisses, fingers tracing muscles and bones, sleepy conversations, leaving those moments became harder every day. He was considering starting his day later for the next semester. He figured Jason didn't need to know that much though.

By the time Jason left he seemed lighter and more pulled together. He had stopped shaking and managed to smile a bit and mentioned practice would likely be long again tonight. Kevin watched him go, understanding Jason better than he had expected. And he wondered how much of his brother he could see in himself and Edd.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Edd went to the library while Kevin had practice that night. He didn't like wearing the scarves inside, though in the cool air of the library it wasn't as bad, but the need to work on his lab report overrode his need for absolute comfort. Their room held too many distractions and Edd found it difficult to concentrate when it really mattered. He settled into his favorite corner of the library with his computer and a few of the books he had borrowed; he sat in a corner of the forth floor where students rarely ventured. The lights were bright but not glaring, the scent of books near enough to calm him into a sedate study without distracting his attention to their hidden secrets, his seat was comfortable enough to ward off neck cricks and stiff muscles without being so cozy that he risked falling asleep. He spread his books on the table in front of him, computer out and ready for long, sure fingers to hastily add keystrokes to finish his report. He plugged his headphones in to a mix of classical music and modern orchestral pieces which he preferred to listen to while he studied.

With a small smile and a sigh of the comfort of being in one's own element, he started his work. His fingers flew over the keys like a concert pianist, adding sentences, paragraphs and pages to his paper. His appendix grew quickly, footnotes adding addendum and citations where necessary, and his works cited page exceeded even his own expectations. Like a well constructed concerto, Edd's paper hit crescendo and diminuendo, stuccato and legatto, adagio and allegro with perfect timing and grace. By the time the librarian announced that the building would be closing in ten minutes, he had nearly finished his report, needing only to make his final argument on his findings and conclude his work. He stretched, rolling his neck around his shoulders, raising his arms above his head and shrugging to relieve what little tension had accumulated. He carefully repacked his bag with his computer and books and walked toward the stairs to exit the library. He took his time leaving and waved goodbye to the student behind the desk on his way out, a girl he knew vaguely from one of the lecture halls, though he couldn't remember which.

The night air was crisp; his breath visible, hanging about his face as he walked toward his dorm. Frost collected on the grass, trees, and bushes. He rubbed his hands together quickly to create enough friction to warm them temporarily. He lost himself in thoughts of a warm shower and the even warmer company of Kevin's body in bed later that night. Their conversation two nights before had been mulling in his head all day, offering plenty of distraction when he allowed it. He caught himself up in that conversation on his walk back and never heard the three men approaching him from behind.

His building was in sight when his vision was obscured by what felt like a pillowcase as it was pulled over his head. He started to scream and received an elbow to his stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs. He was then hefted and carried over a shoulder, squirming but knowing it was useless.

* * *

Kevin and Jason were walking back from practice, much later than usual, when they both received simultaneous texts from Chris asking them to come back to the field for a quick team meeting. They both found it odd but agreed to change and meet back up in a couple minutes. Kevin went back up to the room, and found it oddly empty, especially this time of night. He dropped his duffle and changed into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a zip up before meeting Jason back outside to hike back over to the soccer field. When they arrived at the field Chris was giving them both a sick smile. He still wore his practice uniform, complete with cleats and shin guards. Mud and sweat streaked his forehead and his hair stood at odd angles.

"What's going on?" Kevin asked, looking around at the rest of the team. Three of the seniors were missing, but everyone else seemed to be present with the exception of their coach.

"Oh, we've just got a present for you, Kev."

Kevin's stomach dropped. He didn't know what that meant, but he had a distinct feeling that whatever this "present" was, he wasn't going to like it. He looked around for something he had missed, but whatever it was, it either wasn't there or it fit into their duffle bags. Images from the hazing seminar he'd been required to attend floated across his memory; paddles swinging, shots being poured down throats, among other much more humiliating acts. He was fairly sure they wouldn't do anything to him that would ruin their chances in the championships, which meant he had to be able to play.

"Ah," Chris said, snapping him out of his reverie. "Here it is now."

Kevin turned around as the three missing seniors came into view. One carried something over his shoulder, though from the distance they were at, shortening every second but still far, he couldn't tell exactly what. As they got closer he saw it moving and realized it must be a person. A sick twist tightened his stomach. He didn't think they were capable of it, but the idea that it was a girl for him to "prove his manhood" on crossed his mind. Surely Chris wasn't that sick, that perverse. But no. No they were within the distance of a soccer field now and he realized exactly who they were carrying.

Edd struggled over his shoulder, twisting and kicking. Kevin couldn't see his face, but he knew without a doubt that it was Edd. That Chris's present was much more than just something Kevin wouldn't like.

The senior carrying Edd, Lucas Kevin thought vaguely, dropped him unceremoniously on the ground and pulled off the hood they had shoved over his head. Edd looked scared and confused as he sprung to his feet, looking around, his eyes landing horribly on Kevin. And without looking, Kevin knew that Chris was grinning at him like a wolf.

* * *

Edd fell to the cold ground with a thump, jarring him and dazing him slightly. The pillowcase over his head was ripped off quickly, nearly taking his hat with it. He sucked in a clean breath of air and felt less light headed immediately; it had been nearly impossible to breathe with the material covering his face. The shock of cold air against his face also helped knock him out of his confusion more quickly. Taking stock of his body he felt bruised and sore from the indelicate way he had been carried, and the even more painful way he had been dropped, but he seemed to be in one piece for the time being. He quickly got to his feet, scared of what he assumed came next. The soccer team stood surrounding him, Kevin and Jason in front of Chris looking confused and angry. His heart dropped. It didn't take his massive IQ to know why he had been brought there and what they had planned.

"Show that annoying fucking nerd how you really feel about him," Chris said menacingly through gritted teeth. He pushed Kevin toward Edd with a violent shove.

Edd tensed, unsure what sort of violence to expect. He hadn't felt fearful of his boyfriend since childhood, but it was the boys in back of him, what they could force him to do one way or another, that caused real fear. He was no match for Kevin physically, and with the strength of the entire team behind him, with their swift feet and strong muscles, any chance of beating them or running would be impossible. Kevin stepped closer to him. Edd closed his eyes, not wanting to see the boy he cared so much for pushed to do whatever he was going to do. Without opening his eyes he could tell that Kevin was close. He tensed his body, hoping that Kevin would be gentle enough to spare him another trip to the hospital for the semester. He knew, without a doubt, that this was the last thing either of them wanted to happen, but Edd accepted that Kevin might not yet be ready to come out, as he had insisted he was. He felt a rough grasp behind his neck and wondered vaguely which boy was holding him like an old punching bag. He heard a heavy breath from Kevin, he'd be able to recognize that sound among all the rest, knowing the patterns of his voice and breath intimately. He then felt the unexpected pressure of Kevin's mouth against his own lips. Kevin's breath was hot and his other hand, for it must also be his against his neck, groped at Edd's back.

When they broke the kiss, Kevin turned to the team behind him and said, "That's how I really feel about him. If any of you have a problem with that—"

"What?" spat Chris. "What will you do if we have a problem with it?"

A murmur ran through the team, some angry, some unsure. Edd started to twist the hem of his shirt, sure that both he and Kevin were going to be beaten to death.

"What does it matter?" One of the boys stepped forward. "If he likes a dude, even that one, does it really make a difference?"

Chris turned to the boy speaking. "What does it matter? Maybe I don't want some fag," he spit the word with venom, "checking me out in the locker room. And I don't want to worry that the same fag won't get the pass because he's too busy checking out my ass. Gays have no place in sports. Especially not this one."

Kevin snorted and Edd saw a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I haven't missed a pass because of your ass ever, I assure you. You've got an awful high opinion of yourself for someone who can only get a girl to sleep with him when she's drunk or you've hooked one of her friends up with someone better."

"At least I sleep with girls."

"At least my partner is consenting when he's sober," Kevin retorted. His eyes flashed in a way that Edd didn't like. He realized that Kevin's behavior indicated a need to protect Edd from his team, but the glint of danger in his eyes was likely to override common sense if it came to a physical altercation.

Most of the team stood watching the two boys fire back and forth at each other, the only exception being Jason, who stood nearby still, obviously starting to get tired of it. "Christ, you two, knock it the fuck off. Chris, we need him on the team, he's scored more in this season than half those guys. If you have such a problem with it, it's your senior year and you can quit. We'll manage without you for the championships. Him, I'm not so sure about."

A couple of the guys nodded, agreeing with Jason.

"If you're really going to suggest that I should leave the team because of some fag—"

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm telling you to suck it up and be a team player, whether or not you agree with his life choices, or to get the fuck off the team. We don't need this bullshit. We need to focus on the game, not on who Kevin or anyone else is sleeping with."

Edd glanced between the two older boys. Chris's knuckles cracked and a large vein throbbed in his forehead. Jason's jaw was set firm and tight, his eyes glittering dangerously, hands clenched at his sides. Kevin, surprisingly, looked cool and collected. He almost seemed relieved. The dangerous, defensive look had faded as more of his teammates contemplated what was more important to them, though Edd suspected it was still there, ready to jump back at the first sign of danger to either of them.

"Fags have no place—"

"Keep using that word and I promise you'll regret it." Jason's voice was low, a vein of poison ran through it. Even though Edd knew Jason was defending them, he was still a little afraid of the boy whose voice sounded like arsenic.

"Fag. Queer. Homo. Fairy. Ass bandit—"

Chris was stopped by a very hard swing at his stomach. There was a slight squelching sound, followed by a gasp of air, and finally a groan. It seemed to knock the air out of him and buckled him over, dropping him to his knees. He gasped up at Jason and his teammates surrounding him. They all seemed to be at a crossroads, unsure who to side with. Even if they agreed with Chris, they had to take into account that Jason was going to be captain in a little less than a week, while Chris would be graduating.

Jason shook out his hand and wrist, clenching it into a fist once or twice more. "I warned you. If I hear it again I swear to God I won't be as nice. Edd? Kevin? You guys want to go? There's nothing else that's going to happen tonight." He seemed to be turning to leave as well.

Edd was unsure what that meant in regard to later. Kevin seemed to understand the implication in the now though. He grabbed him by the hand and pulled him back toward main campus without a backward glance. Edd had just enough time to pick up his discarded bag from the ground and hope that his computer hadn't suffered any damage.

* * *

Kevin didn't say a word the entire way back to their dorm. He held Edd's hand tightly and half-dragged his boyfriend up to their room. He tried to suppress a fine shake that was quickly developing in his muscles. When the door was shut he pulled Edd close to him for a moment, holding him in a strong grip and inhaling his scent. Then he put him at arms length to look at him.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

Edd shook his head, and Kevin wasn't sure whether he was responding to the first or second question. "I'm fine. A few bumps and bruises but essentially fine. No lacerations or contusions worth noting."

He nodded. Edd's formal speech spoke volumes about his fear and uncertainty of what could have happened.

He pulled Edd into a strong embrace again, now that he was sure that he wouldn't hurt him with a rough hug. "I never would have hit you. Never."The words were garbled in Edd's t-shirt, hard to hear, but it seemed Edd understood regardless.

He felt Edd nod over his head. "I know. But you could have. I would have understood why."

He shook his head. "I wouldn't have. I couldn't."

Edd shrugged. "You have before. Not in years, but I could have withstood it."

He shook his head again. "I couldn't. Even if I had wanted to, I don't think I could have lifted my fist to do it."

Edd kissed the top of his head, finally warming into the hug. "I'm glad you couldn't. I'm sorry that you were forced to do anything before you were prepared."

He shrugged. "It's probably better this way. I tend to be better unscripted. And at least now it's out in the open. No more secrets. No more hiding." Kevin linked his fingers with Edd's, voice softening. "I can kiss you where ever I want now."

"Mmmm," Edd said. "I'm pretty sure you took that liberty before you were out, if the marks trailing down my torso are any indication."

Kevin laughed a little.

"What about your scholarships?"

He shrugged again and moved to sit on his bed, Edd following closely, standing between his legs, hands still entwined. "You were right. They can't kick me off the teams because I'm gay. So I have at least the rest of the year with my scholarships. After that, if they don't want me to play, I'll get loans. Maybe my dad can help me out. I don't know. I'll figure it out." He leaned his head toward Edd, foreheads touching, nearly nose to nose.

Edd nodded.

"I'm not going to drop out of school. And I'm not going to leave you here alone." He kissed Edd to seal the promise.  
Edd responded with a happy sigh, stepping into the kiss while simultaneously pressing his hips against Kevin's.  
Kevin held Edd close all night, and the next morning he skipped his first class to continue to hold his boyfriend close to him. He knew he shouldn't; Edd protested at first, but the temptation was too much for both of them and Edd relented quickly, enjoying the extra time in bed together. For the first time Kevin thought about saying how deeply he cared for Edd, the words bubbling up in his chest but he held them back for the time being, unsure how quickly he really should say something so big.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The championship game was Saturday. Friday night Kevin paced the room, stressed. He wanted to be at a party to keep his mind off the impending game, but the coach had given them a strict rule of no partying before the game; he didn't want any of his players to be hung over when focus counted most. The day before Kevin had stayed after practice to come out to Coach. While his teammates hadn't exactly been avoiding playing with him, the chemistry on the field hadn't been the same since Chris's unexpected pre-championships "present." Coach had yelled himself hoarse at practice the last few nights, and that night was no exception.

"Everything alright, Kev?"He said looking up from his clipboard and rubbing the back of his neck. His voice cracked. He coughed a little, spit a gobbet of phlegm and tried again. He took in the fact that Kevin lagged behind, helping pick up balls and stalling. The rest of the team had vacated the field. "Didn't seem like yourself out there the last couple nights."

He shook his head. "I gotta tell you something."

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

"I—the rest of the guys already know so it's only fair you know too. I'm—I'm gay. And—"

Coach shrugged. "I already knew but I appreciate the honesty. That why the team seems to be falling apart?"

He shrugged. "Yeah I guess so. Chris told me I should quit the team. That gays have no place in athletics. I think some of them agree. Jason told me no way."

He nodded. "Jason's a smart kid. Chris is an ass. The rest are stupid sheep with no more brains in their heads than in their asses." He paused and when Kevin said nothing, he continued. "Do you want to quit?"

"No—I don't know."

He raised his eyebrows again and stood patiently looking at the boy in front of him.

"Soccer has been everything for me since I was a kid. I love it. But I'm tired of being something I'm not. I want my boyfriend at the games. And I don't want my team to hate me because I have one in the first place. It's—it's complicated."

He nodded. "Sounds like you need to do some thinking."

Kevin frowned. He had been hoping for some actual advice.

Coach seemed to notice and nodded. "I can't tell you what to do. People are stupid, and your teammates can be especially so. But you've got a real talent and it'd be a hell of a thing to waste. You need to decide what's best for you."

"What—what do you honestly think?" He didn't want to sound like a lost kid, but he had never felt more lost in his life, and he didn't know who else to turn to. He'd thought about calling his dad, but he was out of the country on business and wouldn't know what to do anyway. They still didn't discuss the awkward revelation in his bedroom, though he always made a point to ask about Edd during their brief phone calls.

Coach shrugged. "I think that as long as it doesn't affect how you play on the field, it's really no one's business. But then again," he slung a bag of practice balls over his shoulder. "I'm probably in the minority there. A lot of coaches operate on a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. I honestly don't care as long as you're at your best. But I want you to make a decision because it's affecting the whole team and that does make a difference. We can't have distractions this close to the finals."

Kevin muttered that he hadn't planned on coming out before the championships. Coach merely shrugged. "I didn't plan on coaching a soccer team at your age. Shit happens. It's life. Get it together and move forward. Figure out what you want to do. I expect an answer by next semester at the latest so that we can replace you if you need replacing or start in on getting you and Jason working on being captains if we don't."

Kevin nodded. He was no closer to finding an answer now than he had been, but he felt better now that everything was out in the open. And the game was tomorrow, bright and early. The team tried to play like they used to, but there was a definite difference in the way they interacted since the episode. He could feel it and no matter what he said or did, there was no way for him to fix it.

So Kevin paced. He had asked Jason if he wanted to come over to watch a movie or something, but he said he had other plans for the night. He suspected his other plans were the same reason Wilhelmina had turned down a similar offer from Edd.

Edd looked up from his book at his nervous boyfriend. "Are you going to do that all night?"

Kevin shrugged but didn't stop. "Sorry, is it annoying?"

Edd shook his head. "You're not bothering me but it isn't going to help you calm down either."

He nodded. "I know. I just don't know what else to do. I've got all this nervous energy built up. Going for a run didn't help, neither did the shower you insisted on afterward."

Edd set his book aside and looked at Kevin. "Come here."

Kevin asked "Why?" but still came forward and leaned his hips against the bed.

"No, no, get up here. Sit."

Kevin sat on the bed and Edd immediately crawled up behind him. They had recently pushed their beds together, figuring a little extra room would be nice, and that there was no reason not to since they weren't really hiding anymore. The extra room didn't really make a difference because they still slept wrapped up in each other, but it let Edd spread out his books even more when he wrote papers or studied. Edd settled in behind him. His hands started to work into the tensed muscles. Kevin immediately began to melt under his hands, slumping forward and letting out a low groan as Edd work his thumbs in the muscles under his shoulder blades.

"Lay on your stomach," Edd instructed him in a low voice, his breath stroking his ear in a small puff. It sent a shiver up his spine.

Kevin did as he was instructed, shifting to lie down. He felt Edd's thighs on either side of his hips and the hands were back, digging lusciously into the tension, this time with more strength and weight behind them. He worked the shoulders and shoulder blades for a while before Edd suggested he remove his t-shirt. Kevin complied again and Edd worked his way down Kevin's spine, rubbing the muscles that ran along side the column of bone with long fingers pressing in a firm but gentle manner. Kevin could feel the stress melting out of his body, the nervous energy going with it. As Edd worked his way up his flanks with strong, even strokes Kevin started to feel more normal and more in control of his emotions again.

Edd leaned forward and kissed the side of his neck. He kept his hands moving, working the muscles which at this point felt like putty in his hands. He kissed his way back down Kevin's spine and worked the muscles over his hips and buttocks with sure even sweeps of his thumbs. Kevin groaned into the pillow. Edd worked back up the spine a final time, dragging his lips over the vertebrae and lay down on top of Kevin, settling with his lips against his neck.

"Feeling better?" he murmured in Kevin's ear. His breath tickled and warmed him.

Kevin nodded. "I didn't know you knew how to do that."

"Do what?"

"That. All of it. Make my muscles relax like that."

Edd shrugged over him and answer with his mouth still at his ear. "It's a simple matter of knowing the position and shape of the muscles and easing the tension from them with pressure in the correct directions. I studied the musculature of the human back at the beginning of the year. You know how my memory is."

Kevin nodded. He wondered briefly why Edd would have studied muscular anatomy when he wasn't taking a course in it but decided not to pursue that line of questioning for the time being. He felt mostly better. The nervous energy still coursed through him, but he felt less stressed. He shifted a little, encouraging Edd to sit up for a moment, and turned himself so that Edd could lie on his chest, rather than his back. Edd moved his head so that he could kiss Kevin, soft lips meeting, mouths molding together. Kevin kissed him back eagerly, hands reaching around his back, one burying itself in the hair at the nape of Edd's neck. He pulled Edd forward into the kiss and he followed willingly, hands gripping at the skin they could find.

Kevin felt his tension easing even better than the massage had done, and was about to mention it to Edd when he felt Edd rut against him, pressing his hips forward into his own. All thought of conversation escaped him and he fell deeply into the kiss. Edd's hands ran up his ribs, causing a shiver to follow. He felt it pool behind his pants and pushed back against Edd's slowly moving hips. He felt Edd growing against his groin. His breath went out of his lungs as Edd kissed down his stomach and grabbed hold of the elastic waistband of his shorts. He groaned when Edd tugged them down, releasing him to the cool air of their room. Edd continued his teasing trail of kisses down Kevin's hips and thighs, avoiding his groin for the time being.

Kevin groaned loudly when Edd surprised him, suddenly taking one of his balls in his mouth, sucking gently and switching to repeat the treatment on the other. He moved his hands to take over those ministrations and replaced the space in his mouth with the head of Kevin's dick. "Fuck," he whispered on an in drawn breath and reached down to grope at Edd's hair with a firm but gentle grasp. His tongue worked its way around the crown and to the underside before he started to bob his head and hallow his cheeks. Edd worked his groin with hands and mouth for several intense minutes. Kevin tried to warn him as he felt the familiar boil in his gut. "I'm gunna—" he tapped Edd on the shoulder, but Edd merely shook his head, cock still in his mouth, and Kevin came with a groan and a jerk. The last vestiges of his nerves and tension drained from his body and he lay limp as Edd discretely spit into a tissue and crawled back up to lay in the crook of his arm.

Still lost in the afterglow of his unexpected orgasm, Edd had to repeat himself before Kevin realized he'd spoken. "How're you feeling now? Any less intimidated?"

"I'm...feeling...fantastic." Kevin rolled to his side and kissed Edd slowly with as much emotion he could muster. "You're incredible," he murmured when they finally broke the kiss, lips swollen and hearts pumping.

Color rose in Edd's cheeks but he said nothing.

Kevin hooked a hand in the waistband of Edd's pants. "Can I return the favor?"

To his great surprise, Edd shook his head. "Later." Kevin gave a puzzled look. "I don't need you to right now. Tonight is about keeping you calm so you can play your best tomorrow."

Kevin started to protest.

Edd shook his head again. "After tomorrow, if you insist, I'm yours to with as you please."

He sat quietly for a few moments, thinking about what Edd said. Finally he nodded. "I do insist, but I suppose I can wait until tomorrow." He pulled the boy closer to him. "So what's next in your relaxation plan?"

Edd mused for a moment. "How about you pick out a movie? I think there's still some popcorn in the bin next to my desk, too."

Kevin nodded. "Alright." He got out their movie collection and started browsing. "Where are you going?" he asked, looking up.

Edd took his toothbrush from his bathroom caddy and wiggled it over his shoulder as he walked out the door. When he returned, Kevin had pulled his shorts back on and was in the process of pulling a bag of popcorn from the microwave. Edd came up behind him, holding a large bowl for Kevin to dump the contents of the bag in. They got comfortable in the bed and started the movie.


End file.
